Obsidian Blues
by Kat Traxx
Summary: UPDATED! A young thief raised by the syndicate finds her way into the hands of the crew of the Bebop. It's a twisted journey through the Sol system. Please R&R Story Chapter 18 is up!
1. Disclaimers, Warnings, & Author's Notes!

Warning- The author does not condone or like the actions of the bad guy in this story. Behavior like that is sick and wrong, and people who do things like that deserve to be a hooked up to a large generator and fried until they are extra crispy. Just thought I should let you know.

**This story has very mature themes of sexual and physical abuse. If you can't handle that, don't read it. Pay attention to the rating, it earned it!**

Disclaimers-

I am not Shinichirô Watanabe or any affiliate of Bandi Entertainment, if I was, many many things would be drasticly different. First of all, I would not have let Ed just leave the ship without going to look for her and trying to bring her back into the fold. Secondly, I wouldn't have left Jet all alone on the ship after everything that would have happend. I would have had him 'accidentally' bump into a cute and capable redhead that looks remarkably like me. This girl would have beaten Spike with a club and not let him off the ship to commit suicide by calmly explaining to him that no man should ever fight with his best friend over a blonde girl that shoots people. When that failed, the wonderful girl would have shot him in the ass, because as we all know, no man will do anything but lay face down on the couch and try not to cry if he has any wound to his posterior. That being said, enjoy the story.

I figure this will save me the hassle of putting a disclaimer on the front of every chapter. :)

Ok, holding in tradition with the episode titles on Cowboy Bebop, each chapter is named for a song. Just for giggles, I'll give you the list.

**Chapter 1.** Moonlight Sonata

**Artist-** Ludwig van Beethoven

**Chapter 2.** To Catch a Thief

**Artist-** Mike Patton (Faith No More) and Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields)

**Chapter 3.** Stray Cat Strut

**Artist-** The Stray Cats

**Chapter 4.** I fought the Law

**Artist-** The Bobby Fuller Four A/N I was listening to the remake by The Stray Cats when I wrote this.

**Chapter 5. **Haunted

**Artist-** Evanescence

**Chapter 6. **No Easy Way Down

**Artist-** Nora Jones

**Chapter 7.** I Love You... I'll Kill You

**Artist-** Enigma

**Chapter 8.** This War is Over Now

**Artist-** Sarah Brightman

**Chapter 9.** Break Stuff

**Artist-** Limp Bizkit

**Chapter 10.** Maybe

**Artist-** Janis Joplin

**Chapter 11.** Angel

**Artist-** Ghost of the Robot

**Chapter 12.** It's My Life

**Artist-** Bon Jovi

**Chapter 13.** Lock, Step, & Gone

**Artist-** Rancid

**Chapter 14.** Crossroads

**Artist-** Cream

**Chapter 15.** Are You Gonna Be My Girl?

**Artist-** Jet

**Chapter 16.** Outside

**Artist-** Stained

**Chapter 17.** I Used To Love Her

**Artist-** Guns 'n' Roses

**Chapter 18.** Here I Am

**Artist-** The Explosion

THANK YOUS

Darquecyder 6 - Thanks, you have always been my best beta-reader and your words of praise really mean more to me than you think. Take care and keep reading!

Oz - Thank you so much for taking the time to review! I hope all of my wonderful reviewers will be reading this and you'll be very suprised by the ending... even though I already gave it away in the previous couple chapters. lol

Ebony Glare - Don't worry hun, I'm not going to write her in just to kill her off, despite her determination to do just that.

Ms. Tart - I'm sorry it took so long to update, this chapter is definatly a bit lighter than the last couple and I'm starting to pull everything together and finish it off. ;)

Ryo Wings - I swear I'm either blind, or completely stuck in the stupid. You have written so many reviews, and every time I update I forget to thank you. I hope you can overlook my lapse of inteligence, and thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are wonderful!

Kimali Lautoka - Mmmmmm Band Camp (giggles) I'm back to writing and I should crank out another chapter in a couple days... the hardest part is always the titles. I already have chapter 13 & 14 done and titled, I just need to write chapter 12 and give it a name to tie it all together. Thanks for keepin with me!

kyo-ko - I think that the series didn't go into Vicious' mind, no one is truely evil... except for possibly a couple of my ex's lol Anyway, I think Vicious is perhaps one of the most interesting people in the series. Thanks for backing me up on this!

Sorrow - I love you, can I keep you? You are wonderful, and your praise makes me blush. Thank You!

Patrick - I won't

Nova - I'm sorry it took so long for an update, but as you can see, I'm back in the proverbial saddle. Thanks for reviewing so much, I'm glad to see that my ramblings are appreciated!

Kimali Lautoka - I'm glad I could bring a happy spot into your day!

Osa - Thanks, I really appreciate you letting me know what you think! I'm glad I'm getting such a great response on Vicious and the way I've been writing him.

Darquecyder 6 - Thanks Patrick!

bluefuzzyelf - Thanks! You need to update too! I want more!

Hana Chino - I think you are my most devoted reviewer, next to Patrick who talks to me every day about this, I really appreciate you dropping me a note and letting me know what you think. I should have the next chapter up in a couple days. Sorry about taking so long with this one, but that cutie Shin was just begging to be the one to beat him down.

Kimali Lautoka - Thanks so much for reviewing again, it really is nice to see Spike actually care about something other than beef!

Nova - I'm glad I'm getting such a good response on Obsidian, though she grumbled loudly at being called fragile and little. pushes Obsidian back into the anime closet I think she's perhaps the loudest character in my head. lol

bluefuzzyelf - I did read your story! It rocked and I'm currently waiting for you to update. At least I'm not the only one who thinks that Spike's got a cute lanky ass!

Osa - Way cool! It is a small world huh? lol thanks for reviewing and I should have the next chapter up soon, sorry for taking so long with this one, but the title was a bitch to find.

Iggy - I'm writing as fast as I can Iggs. The creative process cannot be rushed. However it can be bribed with cookies! OO YUM!

Kimali Lautoka - If they showed this on cartoon network, they would DEFINATLY have to change the rating. lol

Hana Chino - I've got this story running almost non stop in my head so I don't think I will be running out of ideas anytime soon! Sid is rather insistant about having her story heard.

ForgottenOne - WOOT! I got you addicted! lol thanks so much for reading and I hope to hear more as I go!

Patrick - you have been such a big help with creative input and helping me not fall into the writer's block pit of dispair. I could not be writing this if not for your help! Thank you thank you thank you!


	2. Moonlight Sonata

Chapter 1  
  
August 15, 2062  
  
Jupiter and three of her moons hung low in the sky that evening. Her red eye glared a warning down upon all on Ganymede that no good could come of that night. Only the stars and moons were silent witnesses to the men walking to the door of the single family home on the edge of town. Mercilessly, they kicked in the door, and the distant sounds of gunfire echoed through the quiet night. The two bodyguards were caught completely unaware and dropped bloody and torn by machine gun fire. One of the men grabbed the screaming woman as she ran for the back door, and forced her back into the sparsely furnished living room. He shoved her roughly into a chair as the others made a search of the small domicile looking for more gunmen hired by the desperate woman. When the others returned, they nodded in a matter that told him every thing was clear. He motioned to the door and one of the low ranking members of the group opened the door and stood back.   
  
The reflection of the three moons shined behind the man in the doorway. His face was completely obscured by shadows, but his hair was luminous silver in the light. He walked into the home as the woman whimpered, his cloak was quickly taken by one of the underlings. It was very clear that whatever would happen that night would not happen without this young man's express consent. His eyes were like ice and held no pity for the whining, whimpering weakling that called herself a woman. His sneer belayed the fact that he detested weakness, the sniveling tears of those he was sent to deal with. His eyes, already cold, narrowed as he watched her fall apart before he even said a word.  
  
"Be silent." His voice growled. "Your tears fall on deaf ears."  
  
His words seemed to have little effect on the woman, but she ceased her mewling, and sniffled between her whimpers. He straightened his suit front and gave her a moment to attempt to compose herself. He seemed to be in his late teens, and one would wonder how such a young man had already gained such control in the powerful criminal syndicate that he was so obviously working for.  
  
"We have given you every opportunity to repay the substantial debt that you owe to us." The young man growled on. "Yet not only have you yet to repay us, but you also seem to have scraped up enough money to not only hire one useless body guard, but two. We find this highly unacceptable, and my leaders would very much like recompensation in one form or another."  
  
He paused letting the words sink into the woman's head. Her green eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed wordlessly. She was clearly terrified, her blonde hair hanging limply framing her face. She deeply regretted borrowing even the smallest sum from the Red Dragon Syndicate, but at the time, 3 years ago, she expected her husband to be around to pay it off. He, however, had found himself more in his element with a younger woman and a faster car. Classic mid-life crisis, normally, the former trophy wife would sniff and say what a pity, but this time it had happened to her.  
  
"Since you are unable to pay," He drew the word unable out as cynically as he could. "Then you will simply serve as an example, for others who would follow your footsteps in this lapse of intellect."  
  
He dropped his hand to his side where a beautifully wrought katana hung, and it made a small click as it was snapped free of its sheath. The sound echoed through the silent room, causing fresh tears in the eyes of the woman.  
  
"Mama?" a tiny voice called from the stairs.  
  
The man paused in the process of unleashing certain death upon the woman to turn and discover the source of the new voice. Even he hesitated when he saw her. She could not be more than three years old and her long black hair hung down to the edge of her little nightgown like ink that had been spilled from a bottle. Her eyes were an indescribable blue and within their bottomless depths, held the innocent promise of a hundred spring days. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her.  
  
She did not cry out at the odd scene before her, instead studying the players of the strange drama with an intensity that displayed great intelligence in such a young soul. Her little foot left the stairs as she walked forward into the room, glancing at each of the people before stopping before the leader of the group. She looked up to him, eyes unblinking, accessing him, challenging him.  
  
"Who are you? What are you doing to my Mama?"  
  
The child had no fear in her voice as she spoke, merely anger that someone had so rudely interrupted her quiet night. After waiting for a moment, she made an exasperated sigh and placed her hands on her hips. In that moment, she looked as though she actually was the master of all she surveyed. He couldn't help himself, a noise that made all the adults in the room shudder with fear, escaped his throat. He laughed.  
  
"My name is Vicious." He said simply as he dropped to a knee before her. He looked deeply into her eyes as he talked. "Your mother did very bad things, and now she is going to be punished. Do you understand?"  
  
The girl looked thoughtful, then nodded. She turned and walked over to her mother and hugged her tightly. She smiled up trustingly from that pose at Vicious, then her eyes shut as she squeezed her mother for all her worth. Vicious turned and whispered to one of the men. The older man walked forward and picked up the innocent child, smiling at her.  
  
"Come, show me your room. What toys do you like to play with."  
  
The child's attention diverted, she chattered happily about toy ships and cap guns. Vicious watched them leave then turned back to the mother. It was as if the temperature in the room had dropped rapidly as he went from the uncharacteristic display of warmth back to the cold emotionless void which he seemed to spend most of his days.  
  
"A life for a life." He stared at the mother's eyes as he spoke. "She will come with us, to be raised by the syndicate."  
  
"NO! Please!"  
  
Faster than she could react, Vicious unsheathed his blade and whipped it across her cheek. Blood seeped from the wound. He wiped the blade on the collar of her shirt before speaking again.  
  
"Would you prefer that we simply mutilated and killed you, leaving her alone here with your rotting corpse?" He waited until he saw her shake her head before continuing. "Then remain silent, make no report to the police, and do not disturb her as she leaves. I have no desire to make such a long trip with a squalling child."  
  
The mother nodded as he finished, tears blinding her as the blood flowed from the slash on her face. The older syndicate member walked down the stairs with the little girl balance carefully on his hip, now fully dressed, and a suitcase in his other hand. She wiggled down from the man's grip and ran over to her mother.  
  
"Guess what! Guess what!" she cried happily. "The nice man is going to take me to a big house with lots of toys!" She looked at her mother's tears, and took in the sight of the blood running down her face, and scowled. "What happened?"  
  
The mother looked up fearfully at Vicious. "I just tripped that's all. I will be fine. Go ahead and have a good time, these men are going to take care of you for a while. Do you understand?"   
  
The child nodded at her mother, with a look of confusion on her face. She accepted her mother's will without question.  
  
"Good, then I want you to be a good girl, and do as you're told." The mother snuck another look at Vicious again. "They will take good care of you for me."  
  
The child turned and looked at Vicious, seemingly rolling over the events of the past hour in her mind. She slowly nodded her consent and hugged her mother tightly, saying goodbye. She turned, blue eyes burning their way into Vicious' mind forever as she walked toward him. The man that had held her before scooped her up before she could reach Vicious, and carried her out the door to the waiting limousine. Vicious turned to follow, but paused in the doorway shooting back one last look at the weakling of a woman that had given birth to the remarkable child he was taking with him.  
  
"Wait a week, if there is a report made to the police in that time, kill her without mercy." He coldly stated to the last man out the door.  
  
He knew the mother had not heard him, she was too wrapped in her own misery and self-loathing to notice if the roof had fallen down upon her. The last syndicate member handed Vicious his cloak and he walked out the door. Vicious could not help but wonder as he left, how could something so weak have created something so strong.  
  
Vicious pondered this line of thought as he stepped into the limousine. The trip was silent, punctuated only by the yawns of a small sleepy child. When they had almost reached their destination, she started dropping off to sleep. She climbed across the limousine to the unoccupied seat next to Vicious. Curling up into a ball, she rested her head in his lap, and dropped off to the land of dreams. Everyone held their breath as Vicious was shocked by the sudden physical contact by the trusting child. Slowly, almost fearfully, he extended his hand and carefully touched her hair. He relaxed and began to stroke her hair comfortingly as he had often wished someone had done when he was a child.  
  
"We shall call her Obsidian."  
  
No one questioned him. 


	3. To Catch A Thief

February 5, 2071  
  
Mars  
  
It was cold; it was always cold on Mars. The wind seemed to cut through her like a knife. She pulled her hat down tighter over her ears and pulled the green canvas duster closer. It had been ten years, a more unbearable hell Obsidian could not imagine. He had left her there, in that house, with that horrid monster of a man. Joseph, she shuddered just thinking his name and her steps quickened against the winter pavement.  
  
It hadn't been so bad at first, Vicious was always coming around. Usually he came alone, but every once in a while he'd bring his best friend with. Once he even brought his girlfriend. Julia, that was her name. She didn't seem to want to be anywhere around the wishful family. She didn't seem the type to want anything to do with kids anyway, might mess up her make-up or wrinkle her clothes. She left before he did that day; it seemed like they were fighting about something. Obsidian didn't know.  
  
She approached the area where she was supposed to work and slid into the shadows like a cat. Light seemed to slide off of her under the murky sky. To the casual eye, she was simply another homeless kid, wandering the streets and scrounging for food. How true that little lie was. Obsidian was little better than homeless, as she would rather have been anywhere but there.  
  
Vicious started to teach her when she was about four, he was always around then. Every time he could slip out from under the watchful eyes of the heads of the syndicate, he was with her. He taught her martial arts, both his style, and he managed to bribe or threaten Spike into teaching her his style. Spike never seemed really thrilled to be there, but he was nineteen and felt that he had much better things to do the train the next generation of the syndicate. To her credit, Spike lightened up rather quickly when he found out that she wasn't a grabby spoiled brat.  
  
Obsidian waited, poised to strike, target in sight. When she felt the time had come she slid into the parking lot and in a matter of seconds had picked the lock on the car door. It was simple, though not at all what she was supposed to be trained for. Vicious had other plans for her than petty theft. Joseph, however, made her earn her keep. The alarm had yet to activate, but she could tell by the decal in the window that it was there. She slipped the door open soundlessly and slid into the seat, ducking down under the console to see the wires better. Her penlight clutched between her teeth, she went to work.  
  
On the day they called her birthday, her eighth to be exact, Vicious and Spike took her someplace special. They took her to get her mark. It was on the back of her neck, above a birthmark she didn't know she had. The symbol of the Red Dragon Syndicate was tattooed into her skin, marking her forever as a part of the family. She was so happy, and Vicious made a really big deal out of it. Spike, he seemed sad, strained, and different. He was almost too distant from the group, like he had other things on his mind. Vicious was acting differently that night, like he was waiting for something, something bad that he knew was going to happen.  
  
The alarm went off, loud and screeching. Obsidian was shaken from her memories of the past with a jolt, and smacked her head on the steering column. She dropped the light and fished for it with her hand.  
  
~ Shit, Shit, Shit! ~   
  
The running mantra in her head continued until she had found the light and switched off the alarm. She had to check, she knew, if anyone had come to investigate then she would simply have to scratch the whole thing and run.  
  
It started shortly after the tattoo, the midnight visits from Joseph. He would creep into her room, not so silently, reeking of some such alcohol or another. Whatever was cheap and available usually. The bed would creak under the weight of the inebriated adult, her eyes shut tight as if that would make the nightmare go away. Nothing would make that nightmare vanish, she would scream into the night, but no one ever came to save her. Eventually she stopped screaming when she heard the door open, the weight would press her down to the mattress, but her mind was far away. She would run through her katas in her mind as her body was being used.  
  
She slid the door open and stood on the edge of the car, she carefully poked her head over the roof and looked down the row of cars. Nothing, not even a sound, to betray that someone had heard the desperate wails of the car. Breathing a sigh of relief, she slid back down into the driver's seat, blissfully unaware of the security camera that caught a shot of her from behind.  
  
Spike stopped coming around, and Vicious showed up less and less. When he did come by, it was almost as if he was hurting, like he was wounded deeply inside and it was eating away at his soul. Joseph was careful, he always caught wind of Vicious' visits a good week before they happened and was careful not to hit her face or do too much damage to her fragile body before he came. The little bruises were explained off as her simply being rambunctious or getting into fights with other children. Joseph had a few other orphans at the house that he took care of, but Obsidian was always his special little girl. She would cry bitterly at night wishing selfishly that he would focus on one of the other girls and leave her in peace.  
  
She clenched the penlight between her teeth again and went back down to the wires under the dashboard of the car. The black wire connected to the red wire, then she struck the blue wire against the exposed ends. It took a couple tries before the engine roared to life. Obsidian then reached into the pockets on her coat and pulled out the blocks that she used to reach the pedals on the car. Her coat came off next, and she winced as she twisted, aggravating her bruised ribs. She bundled up her coat and put it under her as a lift to see over the dashboard.  
  
When Vicious went off to that war, everything went directly to hell. Joseph started losing it, the drinking got worse and worse. Soon, he rendered himself unable to perform, and that's when the pain started. He blamed Obsidian for no longer arousing his body when his mind was geared for a night of fun. He would beat her into oblivion when that happened, taking his pleasure in her pain and blood rather than her childish body. Many nights he left her broken and spitting blood only to have her limp out the door in the morning to find more money for his growing need for alcohol.   
  
Meals were few and far between as he drank away every cent she and the others brought home. When the war finally ended, Obsidian was so jaded and cynical of life that she barely noticed. It was a joyful reunion with Vicious, but he left quickly to testify in some trial. Days blurred into weeks then into months, filled with pain and heartache, only broken by the times when her shining star would come to her and she always hoped that he would take her away. Every time he left, he did so alone.  
  
The car zipped quickly out of the parking lot as Obsidian jammed her foot on the pedal. Tires squealed and she made her way to the chop shop where she knew she could pawn off this car for at least 4,000 wulongs. That should make Joseph happy for a short time. With any luck, it would give her a welcome reprieve from a night of pain, if not, she could maybe even just run. She prayed if she had to run, he would never find her again. 


	4. Stray Cat Strut

Chapter 3  
  
February 7, 2071  
  
Mars  
  
Spike stared down at the unidentifiable mess in front of him. He poked at it with his chopsticks and made a disgusted face. He sneered up at Jet, who was standing there looking pissed off.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's food! Now eat it and quit complaining." Jet growled glaring at Spike.  
  
"It looks like something the dog puked up."  
  
"Well it's all we have! Faye took off with our last 5,000 wulongs and all the food."  
  
"Then how did you make this slop?"  
  
Spike attempted to eat the food with his usual utensils but he couldn't seem to grip anything. It simply slid out between the two sticks. He groaned and made another disgusted face while Jet tried to calm himself.  
  
"She missed a box of cornmeal. That wench keeps robbing us blind! Why do we even let her come back here?!" Jet could not seem to get a grip on his anger. "Use a spoon!"  
  
"So? Stop letting her back. It's your ship, you keep saying so. Good riddance I say, who needs her."  
  
"Spike, she took the last carton of cigarettes."  
  
"I'LL KILL THE BITCH!" Spike jumped to his feet. "Which way did she go?"  
  
"It doesn't matter! The food is gone, the money is gone, and the smokes are gone. What are we going to do?"  
  
"Cowboy time! Bounty, bounty, bounty!" Ed piped up from behind the couch, bowl in hand and porridge smeared across her face.  
  
Both Jet and Spike turned to stare at Ed with the usual blank looks that they gave the raving child. Ed bounced happily, dancing with her computer. Just as suddenly as she had started, she twirled and sat down abruptly and set to typing away rapidly on the net.  
  
"Found it, found it. Easy thief!"  
  
The two men looked over the girl's shoulder at the screen. A grainy security cam picture was all that was available on the pitifully small bounty. There was no name to put to the picture, and it unfortunately was shot from behind. All they could tell was that it was shot of a woman, they hoped. The police had termed the woman the Dodger, due to the fact that the thief had apparently dodged all of the security cams except the one that was sound action sensitive. Those cameras, unfortunately, had a ten second delay between frames. She had managed to stay out of sight of it after the first shot.  
  
"Only a million? For something this tough, it ought to be ten! We don't even have a name, or at the very least a face shot!"  
  
"Yes Spike," Jet growled. "But we also don't have any food or smokes."  
  
Spike dropped his head down into his hands. "I'll take the north end of town, you take the south."  
  
**  
  
A couple hours and not too many leads later Jet was becoming frustrated. He was cold from the winter winds, apparently someone in control of the weather on this crater town liked winter to feel like winter. Jet shivered again as the wind whipped down the street. He had talked to perhaps half a dozen people and no one had any information at all. It was if the woman had never existed. Finally Jet's communication device beeped.  
  
"Yeah?" He growled.  
  
"Jet, one of my contacts came back with some info. Seems the area and mode of operation fits with someone named Sid."  
  
"Oh really?" Jet was now interested and the day looked a little brighter.  
  
"Yeah, see what you can come up with. Not sure if it's a man or a woman though."  
  
"Hey thanks Spike-o." Jet grinned as he clicked off the communicator and walked into the corner coffee shop.  
  
Jet slid onto a stool at the counter and signaled the waitress. His already large frame only seemed bigger and more imposing when compared to the tiny seat he had taken. The brunette waitress walked down the to where he sat, at first looking bored, then getting a bit more interested when she saw him sitting there. He wasn't the usual brand of sleazy jerk that she normally got on her shift. Marisa had been a waitress for 4 years now, and she'd seen them all, this one was different.  
  
"What can I get for yah love?" she drawled out.  
  
"Coffee, black, and some information if you have it." Jet smiled politely at her.  
  
"Sure thing," She practically purred, "What'cha want to know?"  
  
"I'm looking for someone named Sid. Long dark hair, you know anyone that goes by that?" He watched her face and eyes as he spoke, waiting for the telltale sign of recognition.  
  
Marisa almost dropped the coffeepot when he said that. She knew the kid; Obsidian had started coming in there about 3 years ago. At first, she had just stared longingly at the tray of sweets that they left out for the customers. Marisa had given her one, and like a stray dog, Obsidian had shown up once a week every week for a freebie. The kid didn't look like she ate much and most of the time was covered in bruises. She never complained or talked about what happened, she was always polite and not troublesome.  
  
"What do you want with Sid? She isn't in trouble is she?"  
  
Jet's eyes widened, he hadn't expected something to hit with the first person he tried. The waitress was obviously a good friend of this Sid woman. Jet reached out and touched Marisa's hand as it shook slightly on the counter top. His hand was huge compared to her slight and perfectly manicured hands.  
  
"Yes she is. I just need to talk to her though. Can you arrange that, or do you know where I could find her?"  
  
Marisa looked carefully at him, he had the look of cop about him, perhaps he was from child services. "Yeah, she hangs out about 4 blocks down, by the underpass."  
  
"Thanks, I really appreciate this." Jet smiled and dropped ten wulongs onto the counter. "Keep the change."  
  
Marisa smiled and nodded, feeling as if she had done her good deed for the week. Perhaps now that kid could be safe. She watched him walk out the door, and sighed. She pocketed the money and went back to work.  
  
Jet walked down four blocks and looked around. There was a black haired girl in a green canvas duster sitting on the corner, smoking a cigarette and looking like she was pondering the mysteries of the universe. He slowly approached her as not to startle her. When he got up to her he looked her over closely. Her jeans were torn and faded, and her mismatched shoes looked like she had pulled them out of a dumpster somewhere. She wore an old gray men's sweater that seemed to be about six sizes too big, around her neck hung a very long red and white striped scarf; a black skullcap finished off the rag-tag ensemble. She looked up at him and Jet's breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were the most startling and vivid blue, inside them hung a hollowness that only happened to those who had seen too much. The remnants of an old bruise marred the perfect skin on her cheek.  
  
"What? Did I grow a third eye?" She bit off sarcastically.   
  
Her voice sounded rough, and she coughed a couple times as if she was coming down with a cold. Jet shook himself out of the spell that her eyes had held him in and really looked at her. She was dirty, tired, and looked hungry. He felt a great swell of pity for the poor child.  
  
"I'm looking for Sid. You know where I can find her?"  
  
After years of lying to Vicious about where and how she gained her bruises, Obsidian had learned to school her features to a blank expression and keep it there. She stared back at him dully, taking in his appearance and judging him. His posture and body movements screamed cop, or some other legal officer. She shrugged.  
  
"Maybe I do and maybe I don't. How much is it worth to you?"  
  
Jet sighed and handed her twenty wulongs, his last twenty wulongs. Spike was going to be pissed. That money was supposed to go for more cigarettes. She pocketed the money then looked at him.  
  
"Sid used to come around here all the time. A couple days ago she said that things were getting too hot in this area and said that she was heading to greener pastures. I think she was planning to go to TJ."  
  
"This Sid got a full name?"  
  
"Yeah," Sid stomped out the cigarette butt and stood up to stretch. "Don't know it though."  
  
"Don't know it? Or not enough wulongs to say?" Jet knew he had been had, this girl knew a lot more than she was letting on.  
  
"What ever you say pops." She looked around, "Now, if yah don't mind, I got shit to do."  
  
Jet turned and started walking down the street. TJ, he rolled his eyes, he didn't want to go there, but at least the weather was nicer than this place. A small red haired child, younger than Ed, raced down the street past Jet. The young boy, another street urchin by the looks of him, was out of breath and heading directly to the girl with the startling blue eyes.  
  
"Sid! Sid! Joseph is looking for you and he's flaming pissed!" The boy yelled as he passed Jet.  
  
Jet froze, eyes wide, realizing that he had been duped by the child. He whipped around, and the girl, Sid, was already running. She rounded the corner with Jet hot on her heels. 


	5. I Fought the Law

Chapter 4  
  
Instead of running down the street, Sid sprinted up the embankment to the overpass. Jet overshot her by a couple of meters after rounding the corner, not realizing that she hadn't gone straight as he had expected. He scrambled up the steep concrete wall and saw her. His heart jammed into his throat as he saw where she had gone, right into the lanes of oncoming traffic. Jet paused, self-preservation overriding his need to catch the girl momentarily. He quickly pushed himself past that mental block and took off into the speeding traffic of the expressway.  
  
Sid was used to running through traffic while dodging the many crooked cops on Mars. She stopped dead on the yellow line as a car sped past her almost pulling her down with the wind drag left in its wake. Jet's heart skipped a beat as he saw the car miss her by a mere three inches. As soon as the car passed she was off like a shot heading to the other side of traffic. Her foot hit the concrete wall that served as a median between the directions of traffic and she used her momentum to propel herself forward into the next few lanes. She ran lithely like a cat, each foot placed deliberately on the pavement as if this was a daily thing for her. She raced across the last four lanes without another incident, Jet, however, was not so fortunate. A car swerved barely missing him, its horn blaring a lethal warning as it passed. Jet cleared the embankment and was off, finding a lull in the deadly traffic.  
  
Sid shot up the chain link fence on the other side of the expressway, the small toes of her shoes catching the holes in the chain, as if she simply walked up the fence. Jet was less than thirty seconds behind her and easily scaled the fence. The pair raced down the city street and Jet was gaining on her.   
  
"Wait! Kid, I just want to talk to you!"  
  
"Fuck off cop!" Sid spit back venomously.  
  
Jet growled and poured on more speed. The Black Dog had bitten down.  
  
He lunged and made a grab for her, his cold metal fingertips brushing the well-worn canvas that made up the collar on her coat. Sid made a split second decision and took a sudden and unexpected left into a busy local restaurant. Jet not to be left out, followed hot on her heels, losing a few precious seconds as he did. She flew over the counter and back into the kitchen door, Jet vaulted over the same counter and was right behind her. Sid however was paying more attention to her surroundings than the man chasing her. She ducked under the arm of the lunch rush waiter and kept going. The waiter spun, attempting to keep control over his over stacked tray as he dodged the crazed child. He didn't see Jet until it was too late. Jet caught the tray, and all the food, mid-chest.  
  
Jet had had enough. He would not let this little brat, who believe it or not was actually smaller than Ed, get the better of him. He was an adult, a former cop at that. He gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed as he followed her out the back door and into the alley behind. Sid panicked, her ribs were killing her and she knew that the fever she had been fighting was going to start kicking her ass soon. She could not keep up this pace. She knew where the small opening was, and slid into the tiny space between two of the buildings in the alley. Jet saw her slide into the minuscule opening and snatched his hand in, grabbing her coat before she could escape. Sid was left with no other option than to slide out of its protective warmth or get dragged from her safe spot. He pulled the duster out of the space and cursed under his breath.  
  
Sid then noticed something that made her blood chill. There was a moving van and boxes blocking the other end of the breezeway. She was trapped. Jet reached back in, but she backed up just out of reach of his grasping hand. He realized that they were at a stalemate and punched the brick wall next to him. Obsidian cowered backward as some of the brick crumbled under his cybernetic hand.  
  
"Get out here now!" He half yelled at her.  
  
"Piss off!" She yelled back, confidant that she could out wait him.  
  
Jet grit his teeth and pulled out his communicator. Spike was walking down the street, dejected and frustrated. The nicotine withdrawals were driving him crazy and he was almost tempted to try and bum a cigarette from one of the many people walking around him. He hadn't found out another piece of information, his sources were dry for free tips that day. His communicator beeped signaling an incoming transmission and he pulled it from his pocket.  
  
"You got something?"  
  
"Spike! Home in on my signal and get your lanky ass down here."  
  
"Lanky?" Spike chuckled sensing his partner's frustration. "What's going on?"  
  
"I got the little pain in the ass cornered, and I'm too big to fit in after her." Jet growled, frustration gnawing at him.  
  
Spike just laughed as he ran for his ship, "On my way."  
  
Sid shivered, she was cold and the fever was starting to eat at her. She could feel it burning at the base of her neck, threatening to climb higher into her mind. She was running out of time, but luckily they hadn't drawn a crowd. No one seemed to notice the odd Mexican stand off that was going on between the huge man and the trapped child. Obsidian was becoming worried; little by little the confidence that she had clung to about out waiting the large man wore down. He glared at her from the entrance to her hiding spot and waited, arms crossed for his lanky partner to come. Spike, she had known someone by that name once, but he was dead now. Joseph had told her that one of her precious protectors had died; she couldn't cry for him, not after what he had done to Vicious.  
  
"You might as well come out." The large man spoke, a scowl still on his face. "I will catch you."  
  
"Yeah right." She bit down on her tongue to keep from coughing.  
  
"My name is Jet Black. I always catch my bounties," He glared down at her, "and you're worth a million wulongs kid."  
  
"A bounty hunter?" she laughed then couldn't hold it back any more. Her body shook with the force of her wet wracking coughs. "Get real and fuck off Pops, you won't get a cent for me."  
  
Jet's expression softened as he saw just how sick this kid was and his mothering instincts kicked in full force. Soon, Spike would be there and they could fish the poor thing out and get her some help. Jet figured it couldn't hurt to patch the girl up before turning her in, all the cops would do is send her to the infirmary after putting her through the long processing period. Even so, the cells weren't a good place for a sick defenseless kid. Obsidian, meanwhile, was wondering where Joseph had managed to scrape together a million wulongs. More likely than not, he had just posted the bounty and then would back out of it once he had her. Jet looked off to his right and nodded.  
  
"About time you showed up." He said to Spike.  
  
"What? You stop for lunch?" Spike chuckled as he took in the sight of Jet covered in the remnants of the waiter's tray.  
  
Obsidian took that moment to move. She had been watching as the movers had steadily removed the boxes from the other end of the tiny breezeway until it was clear. She darted down the path and crawled out the other end, under the truck. An open sewer grate beckoned her and she slid inside. Jet's eyes went wide as he saw her move.  
  
"Shit! She found a way out! Quick, get to the other side."  
  
The two men raced for the other entrance to the breezeway and when they got there, out of breath, she was nowhere to be seen. The frantically looked around, but couldn't find a trace of her. Jet walked over to one of the movers who were standing around on a coffee break.  
  
"You see a kid about so high," he gestured with his hand approximately Obsidian's height, "run out of that breezeway?"  
  
"Yeah," the mover stated flatly, "The little piece of street trash slid into that sewer grate like she belonged down there."  
  
Jet looked at Spike and then the sewer grate.  
  
"Don't even think it," Spike said with disgust in his voice. "I wouldn't fit anyway, it's too small."  
  
Jet shook his head and walked back to the alley. He picked up the girl's coat and dug through the pockets for a moment. The object of his quest found, he tossed Spike a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Spike immediately lit one up and tossed them back to Jet. He continued to go through the pockets until his hand brushed something familiar. He pulled out roughly 4,600 wulongs from one of the inner pockets and was about to comment on their good fortune when he noticed something written on the tag in the back.  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
"What?" Spike asked, only half interested.  
  
Jet turned the coat around and showed him. Written on the tag was a single word. Spike.  
  
**  
  
About an hour later, Sid finally exited the sewers. She was about twenty blocks from where she had gone in and was heading for one of the old abandoned syndicate safehouses. She figured she could hide there until she felt better, then figure out what to do then. The door creaked on it's hinges as she swung it open and slipped inside. It smelled musty in there, like no one had been at that house in years. All of the furniture was covered with white cloths and seemed ghostly in the dimming light. Obsidian breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the living room. It was then that the hand darted out and grabbed her hair.  
  
"I've been looking for you." A voice hissed near her ear.  
  
Her blood ran cold as ice in her veins.  
  
"Joseph!" 


	6. Haunted

Chapter 5  
  
"So we have another mystery on our hands." Jet scowled slightly as he walked back to the Hammerhead.  
  
"What's that?" Spike ambled along beside him.  
  
"Why your name was written on the tag in the kid's duster."  
  
"Who cares." Spike stretched and rested his hands behind his head. "I've been wearing that kind of coat for years. The kid probably got it from a resale shop, or some dumpsite somewhere."  
  
"I don't know Spike, I've got a feeling about this one."  
  
**  
  
Sid reeled back as Joseph's fist impacted her face. Her vision watered from the tears she desperately wanted to cry, but that would only encourage him. She could feel her lip start to swell, the blood trickling down to her chin. She steeled herself, but then started coughing again. Joseph took that opportunity to savagely pound his fist into her already upset stomach. It was all she could do not to vomit right there.  
  
"Where's the money?" he hissed.  
  
"I don't have it. It's gone." She stared at the floor and tried to gain composure over her reactions.  
  
"Lying little bitch!" His fist slammed out into her already bruised ribs and she heard a crunching noise as blinding pain flooded her mind.  
  
**  
  
"Alright Jet, lets compare info." Spike said as he sat down on the old faded yellow couch.  
  
"Near as I can tell, the kid's about twelve. She stands about four foot tall, and if she's really lucky might weigh about eighty pounds."  
  
"Wait, what kid?"  
  
"Sid, the one we've been chasing. She just a kid."  
  
"I thought we were after a woman."  
  
"The picture must have been inaccurate. She was probably standing on something at the time. Anyway, she has long black hair, and the most startling blue eyes I've ever seen." Jet sighed sorrowfully thinking about her. "She's like a little wild animal though, I think someone may have knocked her around a bit. She's a fighter though."  
  
Jet looked up at Spike and noticed that he had stopped listening. Spike's eyes were wide and unblinking; the still lit cigarette hung from his lips momentarily forgotten. He froze remembering the little girl he had known four years ago. Jet waved his hand in front of Spikes face.  
  
"Still with me?" Jet said with a concerned note in his voice. "What? Do you know something?"  
  
"Obsidian. It can't be." Spike seemed shocked then shook his head. "Nah, it couldn't be."  
  
"Who's Obsidian?"  
  
"Vicious' little prodigy, but it can't be her. He wouldn't allow her to steal cars, and if anyone to raised a hand to her, he would cut it off." Spike shook his head. "It must just be a coincidence."  
  
Jet shrugged looking unconvinced. "Well, we'll see."  
  
**  
  
"I want that money, and you better come up with it quick." Joseph growled low and dangerously as he kicked her in the knee.  
  
Obsidian dropped like a bag of stones. "I got mugged by a guy. He said his name was Jet."  
  
Joseph kneeled on her back and got down low to her ear. "Keep talking."  
  
"He's tall, taller than you. His left arm from the shoulder down is cybernetic, and he has a scar over his right eye that runs down to another cyberplate." She whimpered from the pressure on her spine. "He snatched my coat and I barely escaped."  
  
"For your sake, you better be telling the truth." He smiled knowingly, "I will be checking this story, but first, I'm feeling like having some fun."  
  
Obsidian's heart froze as he ripped open the front of her jeans. The old familiar screams tore through her throat and into the night sky. Joseph smiled as if listening to an indescribable symphony.  
  
**  
  
"Spike, I'm going out for supplies. I'll be back in an hour." Jet yelled into the cargo area where Spike was doing his katas.  
  
Spike didn't even acknowledge him as Jet turned around and walked out of the room. He felt a bit guilty about spending the girl's money, but they were desperate. Ed had already started chewing on the yellow chair that matched the old faded couch. Jet shook his head and walked off the ship. A short while later, he was walking through a run down twenty-four hour convenience store. He pulled generic food items off the shelves, mostly ramen noodles and some bell peppers. They were a main staple of the menu on the Bebop. Jet walked to the counter and paid the uninterested clerk for the items he had bought. Jet took the bag from the kid that couldn't have been too far out of his teens and started walking back to the ship. He was rolling around the info he had on the kid as he went, hoping to stumble onto something he had missed before.  
  
**  
  
Obsidian's hands shook from pain and illness as she reached for her pants. Joseph had rolled over snoring drunkenly after using her little body. She could feel the bruises from his hands on her throat still. She carefully tugged the pants on only to notice that in his haste he had ripped the button off her jeans. Sid felt a fresh wave of nausea as her mind flashed to the events of moments before. She slid her feet back into her beat up miss matched shoes and wrapped her scarf around her neck, covering the finger shaped bruises that marred her skin. Joseph muttered and rolled over; she froze, fear choking her. Carefully, she got up, hobbled to the door, and slipped out silently. Obsidian didn't know where to go, so she headed for the docks. She knew that territory belonged to the White Tiger Syndicate and Joseph would never dare to go there. Luckily for her, it was only about ten blocks from where she was.  
  
**  
  
Jet was almost back to the Bebop when he caught a flash of red in his peripheral vision. He made a quick right into the alleyway and smiled coldly when he saw the familiar form of Sid, complete with that bright red and white scarf, limping away from him. She hadn't noticed him yet so he had a bit of a head start on her. He carefully set down the bag of groceries and prepared to make his move. Jet crept up behind her using a grace that one would not expect in a man of his size and bulk. When he was within grabbing distance of her he reached out his metal hand and whipped her around to face him. What he saw, shook him deeply.   
  
Someone had obviously worked her over hard, she was bleeding from her nose and mouth, and her left eye was starting to swell shut. Her eyes went in and out of focus until they simply rolled up into her head and she fell over unconscious. Jet scooped up the child in his arms and carried her tiny form back to where he left the groceries. He cradled her in his cybernetic arm while he picked up the bag in the other. She shivered in his arms and her face flushed bright with fever. Spike finished up his workout and had just entered the living room as Jet walked in. Ed poked her head in the room from the room that Faye had been using as a bedroom.  
  
"Oo-la-la! What's that?"  
  
"It's our bounty and she's hurt." Jet dropped the bag of groceries. "Ed I want you to put the groceries away, Spike grab the med kit and follow me."  
  
Jet didn't even pause to see if the two obeyed him, he just walked directly into the bathroom and started running a bath. He balanced her carefully as he put his large hand against her cheek quickly checking her temperature. Jet hissed softly as he adjusted the water to help bring down the fever that was raging inside the slip of a girl in his arms. He carefully unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and froze, staring, almost uncomprehending the obvious signs of near strangulation. Jet was genuinely afraid to finish undressing the girl, fearing he'd find more signs of abuse.   
  
He forced himself to continue, and the sights that greeted his eyes confirmed his worst fears. Purple angry bruises littered her body signaling broken ribs and possible internal injuries. Jet cringed knowing that he would have to remove the torn and ruined jeans from the child, and when he saw the missing button and ruined zipper, a rage filled him like he had not known he was capable of. He forced his hands to keep working and slipped her shoes from her feet, then peeled off her little socks. Jet hesitated seeing traces of blood seeping down her pant leg. He steeled himself once again and began to draw down her jeans. By the time he had finished and seen all the damage that had been done, from her bruised and swollen right knee, to the obvious signs of rape, he was blinded with rage. He heard the door slide open and the usual scent of cheap cologne and cigarettes that seemed to accompany Spike filtered into the room. Jet sheltered Sid from Spike's view.  
  
"Sorry it took so long, I..." Spike started, but Jet cut him off.  
  
"Drop the med kit and get out, and keep Ed the hell out of here." Jets voice was low and more dangerous than Spike had ever heard it. "Spike, I don't care if you have to fly over there and hold him at gun point, get Doc here now!"  
  
Spike backed out of the room without saying a word and ran for the transmitter. 


	7. No Easy Way Down

Chapter 6  
  
Jet carefully laid the fragile girl in the bathtub, and she whimpered, locked in a fever-induced hallucination. He washed clean all of her wounds, then propped her up and washed the grease and dirt from her hair. He rinsed her skin and long hair, then took the softest towel they had, and wrapped her in it. For all the gentleness he showed his precious bonsai trees, it was nothing compared to the tenderness Jet showed in his care of Obsidian.  
  
He walked to his room, leaving her torn and bloody clothes behind, discarded on the floor. Once inside he laid her down on his bed and dried her the rest of the way off. She never woke through the whole process, staying in blissful ignorance of the world around her. He pulled out a clean red T-shirt from his drawer, and softly put it on her. The shirt hung down like a dress on her slender frame as Jet probed carefully at her bruised and swollen knee. Slowly and deliberately, he bandaged her knee.  
  
Jet sat on the edge of the bed, waiting, his head in his hands as he remembered. Every reason he ever had for being a cop was lying on the bed behind him, whimpering softly and crying silent tears in her sleep. He had wanted to protect people, to take down the ones that made a living hurting and using others, to make things change for the better. He hadn't wanted glory or recognition, he had just wanted to make a difference, even in a small way. He was just too damned eager to make the changes, he hadn't played it safe. Thinking that the badge would protect him, as if it actually meant something more than the piece of metal that it was stamped out of, like he was invincible when he wore it.  
  
He knew now that he wasn't, his cybernetic arm proved that fact and he kept it around as a reminder. Jet sighed and tried to put those thoughts behind him as he got up and retrieved a cool damp cloth from the bathroom. When he returned to his room, Ed was there kneeling beside the bed, peeking over the top of it at the sleeping girl.  
  
"Ed, what are you doing in here?" Jet asked quietly, no trace of his earlier anger in his voice, lest he scare Ed.  
  
"She's broken, like Spike-person." Ed whispered as she turned and looked at Jet, "She's got pictures on her neck."  
  
"Ed, those are bruises, not pictures." Jet said as he picked up the wiry pre-teen.  
  
"No, no, the red in her hair."  
  
"Ed what are you talking about? Her hair isn't red."  
  
"Inside her hair is the red picture, on the back, lookie lookie!" Ed slid out of his arms and skipped out the door.  
  
Jet was curious as he let his fingers brush aside the hair the hung around her neck. He saw the edge of a tattoo, something in red, and lifted her up slightly to get a better look. He could clearly see the mark of the Red Dragon Syndicate on the back of her neck and carefully laid her back down.  
  
"Well I'll be damned." He walked to the door and stuck his head into the hall. "Spike get over here quick!"  
  
Ed was sitting with her back to the wall and her knees tucked up to her chin. "Spike-person went to go get the Doc-person. All gone gone. Jet? Can Ed come in the room if she promises to be really quietlike? Ed doesn't want to be alone."  
  
"Sure Ed, come on in. It's OK." He looked at her and smiled a bit. "Are you OK Ed?"  
  
"What happened? Only Spike-Spike ever comes home that ouchie." Ed looked worried, and Jet realized that it probably had never occurred to the carefree girl that someone would ever hurt a child deliberately.  
  
"I don't know Ed, we'll just have to wait for her to wake up so we can ask her." Jet said calmly.  
  
"Is she gonna die?"  
  
Jet shook his head. "No, I wouldn't allow that. Nobody dies on my ship unless I say so."  
  
Ed seemed to relax a bit after hearing that, and crawled up onto Jet's bed. Jet sat down again on the edge of the bed and leaned his back to the wall. Ed circled the same spot over and over until she finally curled up into a ball like a cat and relaxed completely. Before too long, Jet heard the familiar whine and scratching at the door of Ein wanting to come in. He stood up and opened the door, allowing the small Welsh Corgi to enter the room. It seemed more comfortable with Ed and Ein in there with him than sitting alone and counting the seconds until Spike showed back up with the Doc. Jet took his place back on the edge of the bed as Ein jumped up and curled up next to his constant companion.  
  
**  
  
Obsidian flashed between different memories, locked in her hallucinations. Vivid happy scenes with Vicious floated through her mind and she relived each precious and treasured vision happily. She murmured as she tossed and turned, remembering numerous training sessions and an equal number of pleasant outings. The private moments they shared were only broken by the sharp sense of loss with his leaving again.  
  
"No! Don't go!" She cried out at one point.  
  
Jet to startled, then reached over and tucked his arm underneath her, drawing her close to his side, and she calmed immediately in her sleep. The door slid open and the Doc walked in, Spike right on his heels.   
  
"Jet, I brought the Doc." Spike said, words trailing off as he got his first good look at the girl.  
  
"Alright, all of you out. There's not enough room with all of you in here crowding me," Doc huffed. "And don't think you don't owe me big for this one."  
  
Jet nodded and laid her back down alone as he stood. He reached over and picked up the sleeping form of Ed, then quietly exited the room with Ein following close behind. Spike just stood there, staring and shaking slightly.  
  
"Spike, You heard the Doc, out." Jet growled as he walked into the living room.  
  
**  
  
Two hours later, Doc exited Jet's bedroom. He walked in and sat down on the faded yellow chair, looked at his hands then up at the worried faces before him. Jet leaned against the metal stairs and seemed to have been pacing around, while Spike was sitting on the couch more tense then Jet had ever seen him. Ed rolled around the floor being chased by Ein, who yipped at her occasionally in a playful way.  
  
"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news."  
  
"Give me the bad news Doc." Jet stated flatly as Spike just continued to stare unfocused at his hands.  
  
"She's got some broken ribs, about four of them, her knee is sprained, her left shoulder was out of the socket, she's got a tooth knocked out, but I think it might have been a baby tooth, and..." Doc paused and looked deliberately at Ed then up at Jet.  
  
"And what?" Ed asked, still as naïve as ever.  
  
"Ed, did you put all the groceries away?" Jet asked quickly changing the subject.  
  
"Uh huh! Ed sure did." She said, beaming up at Jet from the floor.   
  
"Well, go give Ein a bath, it looks like he needs one."   
  
Jet's only answer before Ed blew into a flurry of motion was Ein whining momentarily as if in protest. Ed scampered across the floor and grabbed up the Corgi before he could escape. Twirling maniacally, she tossed him in the air, caught him, and ran from the room.  
  
"Go on Doc." Jet said, not wanting to hear the rest.  
  
Doc took a deep breath then continued, "There was also tearing and bleeding consistent in rape victims. Judging by the amount of scarring I found, this wasn't the first time either."  
  
Jet's cybernetic fist impacted with the wall hard enough to leave a dent, silencing Doc immediately. He shook slightly with rage as he stood there, fist still in the dent that he had made. Spike dropped his face into his hands, making the first movement he had made in the last two hours. Doc waited, eyes wide, he had never seen Jet or Spike loose the cool that he had come to expect from them. Doc himself was only able to stay detached after years of dealing with medical emergencies, having to emotionally distance himself from his patient's circumstances.  
  
"What's the good news?" Jet growled out after a few moments.  
  
"Her fever has started to come down and she should be awake sometime tomorrow. She seems to have been malnourished, so she will need to adhere to a dietary plan that I will leave with you. Other than that, keep her off her feet for the next week, I don't want her moving around and messing up all the work I've done like you two always do." Doc stood up. "I've given her some antibiotics, so keep her drinking juice with vitamin C in it."  
  
Jet merely nodded, barely acknowledging that he had heard Doc speak. Spike didn't move an inch as Doc walked up the small set of stairs and opened the door, but before he could step out, Jet spoke.  
  
"We owe you Doc, thank you."  
  
Doc paused long enough to look over his shoulder and say, "Just catch the bastard who did this. That's all I ask." 


	8. I Love You I'll Kill You

Chapter 7  
  
Jet woke to the sounds of Ein barking insistently. He sat up and tried to orientated himself, the events of the night before flashed though his mind, forcing the images back as he stood and stretched. He had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, Ed curled on top of his chest. Spike had drank himself into oblivion, then stumbled off to his room. Jet didn't know why, but he had a feeling it had to do with the girl. With Spike, it always had to do with a girl. Ed had wandered off as usual, she never seemed to stay still for long. He left the living room and poked his head into his bedroom to see if Obsidian was awake only to turn rapidly around and yell for Spike. She was gone.  
  
**  
  
Obsidian had woken hours before anyone else and took in her surroundings carefully. She was on a bed in a room she didn't know, wearing clothes she didn't own, somewhere she had no idea where she was. This was decidedly not good. She quickly took stock of what she could see in the room, and found a maroon scarf hanging on a hook under a cream colored fedora, a large gray winter coat, and some pillows. Whoever lived here didn't seem much for decoration, and kept the room tidy. She opened the drawers and poked around a bit, and gauged the guy's size at much bigger than her. It was time for a hasty getaway.  
  
She had hobbled out the door with the coat and scarf on and several pairs of stolen socks on her feet since her shoes and clothes seemed to have gone missing. It was about that time she saw him, the guy from the other day, Jet. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out, but from how rested she felt, it had been at least the night. She peeked in doorways looking for the exit, being as quiet as she could, lest she wake the sleeping hunter. Sid knew how wrecked she was and didn't think she was up for another game of chase. When she poked her head into the kitchen, her stomach growled and she decided to take advantage of the food she saw within.   
  
She slipped the refrigerator door open soundlessly and fished through the contents looking for food, what she found on the other hand was not what she was expecting. The butt of a gun brushed her hand as she reached for a half-eaten sandwich, and she took them both. The gun had no clip but after checking the freezer she found it. Obsidian could not even begin to imagine what kind of a man kept a gun in the fridge, nor did she want to. All she wanted to do was beat a hasty retreat and lick her wounds for a while. The next room she poked her head into had some kid she didn't know and a dog sleeping peacefully on a bed. The shutting door made a tiny click as the latch caught.  
  
Obsidian looked around the living area and counted her options, barring secret passageways and hidden doors, the stairs were her last hope. She knew that there was no way she was going to hobble up the steps quietly, so she sat down and inched her way up, one step at a time. When she had made it to the top, she was relived to find that someone had left the door slightly ajar. She slipped out quietly. The hall was empty and the swish of her socks echoed in the darkness. She made her way slowly down the corridor looking for an avenue of escape, but finding none. She was hurting, frustrated, and starting to get tired again as she walked through the never-ending maze that seemed to be a ship of some kind. Finally, giving up or enacting a tactical retreat, she wasn't sure, Obsidian curled up in a corner of what appeared to be a cargo bay and let loose her tears.  
  
**  
  
Jet rounded up the remaining crew and set them to looking. Ed took the living areas as Jet and Spike split the huge amount of cargo space. Together they would all search the 142 meters of decks, rotating sections, and rooms that made up the Bebop. Each set off alone, with the exception of Ed and Ein. Jet took the front cargo bays and Spike, still hung over, took the back areas. After several hours all they had managed to find were her discarded clothes in the bathroom. Spike had had enough.  
  
"Look, we got a dog." He said exasperated, "Why don't we just use it to track her?"  
  
"Ein!" Ed squealed causing Spike to flinch and wish for aspirin, "Now you're a detective woof-woof!"  
  
"Calm down will you?" Spike gritted out, his left eye twitching. He seemed more edgy than Jet had seen him in a while.  
  
Jet looked at Spike suspiciously. "Spike, what do you know? Don't hold out on us here."  
  
Spike looked down then up at Jet with a sigh; for once he wasn't wearing the usual smirk. "Look, I know this kid. She was trained to be invisible, to fight, to kill, and to not be caught. Hell, I taught her some of it. If she's still on the ship, and Jet, that's a pretty big fucking if, she's probably hurt and confused."  
  
"So this is the Obsidian that you hoped it wasn't." Jet grimaced. "Great."  
  
Spike nodded. "Yeah, it's her all right. I haven't seen her in four years, but the kid is definitely the one I was afraid it was. Go ahead and start with out me, I need to grab something before I join you."  
  
"Are you sure?" Jet asked slightly confused.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure, I'll catch up to you." Spike nodded as he walked into his room.  
  
"All right." Jet nodded. "Ed, I want you to stay and call us if she comes back in here."  
  
Jet went down to the bathroom and picked up the discarded scarf. He knelt down next to Ein and let him get the scent of their prey. Ein seemed to know exactly what was expected of him and before Jet could even say anything, he was off, nose to the ground following the girl's frantic path. Jet followed closely behind as Ein dashed down the winding corridors that made up the back halls of the bebop. Obsidian had gone in the wrong direction if she had wanted to get out, taking a right when she should have taken a left, and Jet thanked whatever deity that was watching out for the girl that she had done so. She was in no condition to be wandering around in the middle of a Martian winter.  
  
Ein dashed into one of the smaller cargo bays, there were piles of boxes everywhere. Even Jet had forgotten what they originally contained, but some of them had labels on them from Jet's old apartment on Ganymede. Most of his belongings from that time brought back painful memories of Alisa and he didn't want to be reminded of that time. The wounds still felt too fresh, and he liked to pretend that he could forget. He picked his way through the boxes following Ein, then came up short when he saw her. She was curled up on the floor, wearing his coat and scarf. Her feet were bundled up in what looked like around four pairs of his socks. She looked so peaceful and innocent. Then he saw the gun.   
  
It was Spike's, the one that he kept in the back of the fridge. Near as Jet could tell, she looked like she had cried herself to sleep holding the Jericho 941 pressed against her cheek. Ein barked insistently as if to say I found her, and she stirred, then rapidly sat up, gun pointed and slightly wavering. Her left eye was an ugly purple color, which provided a startling contrast with her crystal blue eyes. She was definitely awake and aware of her surroundings this time and her eyes narrowed when they, and the gun, focused on Jet.  
  
"I'm not going back." She stated flatly as he raised his hands in a sign of surrender.  
  
"That's good, because I had no intention of sending you back." Jet remained calm and tried to make his voice friendlier. "You were hurt, I brought you here and had the Doc come and patch you up, but you aren't supposed to be on your feet for about a week."  
  
"I suppose you want a reward?" She said cynically, bitterness and fear shining through.  
  
Jet's heart hurt to see this small girl hurt so badly in her few years. "No, I just want you to heal and feel better."  
  
"Why?" She sneered, "So you can turn me over to the cops? They'll just send me back to him and I won't go."  
  
Suddenly her eyes took on a dangerous glint, and she turned the gun on herself. "I'll kill myself now before I let you do that."  
  
Jet took a half step forward, as if to try and stop her. His eyes were wide and desperate, fear open for her to see. His look didn't suggest a fear of monetary loss, but rather genuine concern for her. She paused in her empty threat, looking into his eyes, desperately wanting for a moment to believe him. Jet could see it in her; she needed to trust in someone, something, anything other than the certainty of death and harshness.  
  
"Obsidian stop this now."   
  
Spike's voice rang out clearly through the cargo bay. Neither Jet, nor Sid had heard him come in. Obsidian let the gun dip from its deadly position under her chin and looked about, keeping Jet in her line of sight as she did. Spike sauntered in with his usual swagger.  
  
"I know you weren't raised to behave like this." He said calmly, "I should know, shouldn't I?"  
  
"Spike." She hissed and pointed the gun at him.  
  
"The one and only." He said confidently.  
  
"But you're dead." The gun wavered, as did her voice.  
  
"I've heard that rumor." Spike smiled at her.  
  
Her eyes grew hard and angry. "Betrayer."  
  
She pulled the trigger. 


	9. This War is Over Now

Chapter 8  
  
The bullet caught Spike dead center in his chest and pulled him off his feet into some of the boxes. Movement caught her eye as she whipped the gun around and tried to train it back on Jet. He dove forward moving on pure instinct and knocked the gun to the side as she pulled the trigger again. Fear choked Obsidian as he grabbed her gun arm, then wrapped his cybernetic arm around her waist, picking her up firmly but gently. Jet's other hand pressed at the pressure point on her wrist and she dropped the gun almost instantly.  
  
Jet didn't know what to do; his mind was still reeling from the events that had just transpired. His partner and best friend had just been gunned down before his eyes, as he stood powerless to help. He held Sid tightly until she stopped struggling, then moved her in his arms until he held her more securely. Jet turned and started walking over to check Spike, never once letting go of his murderous hostage. He looked down at his best friend and saw the bullet hole through the chest of the usual wrinkled blue suit that Spike always wore. Only one thing caught his attention. There was no blood.  
  
"I thought I always taught you to aim for the head?" Spike smirked as he opened his eyes.  
  
"Spike! What the?" Jet mumbled confused, Obsidian was stone still in his arms.  
  
"I wore a vest. I had a feeling she wouldn't be happy to see me." He dusted himself off as he stood.  
  
"You fucking asshole." Jet was shocked to hear such strong language come from the mouth of the young girl. "You don't deserve to live after what you did."  
  
"Watch your mouth little girl." Spike said angrily.  
  
Obsidian's mouth snapped shut almost audibly then she glared at him. "Hypocrite."  
  
"We are going in the other room, where it is warmer. If you two want to continue this journey down memory lane, then you may continue it in the living area." Jet shot out before the argument could escalate further.  
  
Obsidian glared at Spike, and he stared sternly back at her. It was not going to be easy to get her to trust them, and both of the men knew it. She was half-wild and unafraid of pain and death. The three of them made their way back down the corridors to the living area silently.   
  
"Jet-person! She came back in." Ed grinned as she spoke, attempting to lighten the tense mood that enveloped the group.  
  
"Yes Ed, we know." Jet simply stated.  
  
Jet set her back down on the couch and unbuttoned the coat from her slender form. Her eyes went wide and panicked as she watched his fingers work and her hands shook in her lap. Jet simply took the coat and scarf silently back to his room, before coming out with the blanket from his bed. He wrapped it around her and then knelt down before her.  
  
"I want you to stay here. Ok? I'm going to go make you some lunch, then we will all sit down and talk."  
  
She nodded, not looking him in the eyes as she did. She did not want to incur the wrath of the large hunter. Ed stared at her curiously, then wandered off to play chess on her computer Tomato. Spike sat down in the faded yellow chair across from her and lit a cigarette.  
  
"So how long did it take Spike?" She bit out the words.  
  
"How long for what?" Spike asked suspiciously.  
  
"How long before that two-bit whore was double timing you with someone else." She smiled cruelly at him, "Before she walked out on you and vanished, before she left you broken and filled with pain. Did she leave with someone you trusted?"  
  
Spike shook with anger. "That's enough Obsidian." He said low.  
  
"How many other men did she have before she left you? Did it hurt?" Her painful line of questions went on. "I hope it killed you inside. I hope it still eats at you at night when you lie alone in bed."  
  
Spike sat bolt upright and slammed his fist on the table causing her to flinch. "I said that's ENOUGH!"  
  
Jet poked his head back into the living room from the kitchen to see what was going on, and looked over the two angry people with a warning glare, before returning to the kitchen. Ed buried herself in Tomato, surfing the net and trying to ignore what was happening around her. Spike shook with anger and his eyes were narrowed dangerously.  
  
"Is that why Vicious beat the shit out of you? He couldn't stand listening to your mouth?" Spike spit out at her.  
  
Obsidian's eyes went wide then she laughed herself into a coughing fit. "You fucking idiot. My Vicious would never have done this!"  
  
"TOO LOUD!" Ed stood and shouted at them before stomping off with the computer balanced precariously on her head. "Ed cannot even hear herself think."  
  
Sid looked down at her hands, a nervous habit she had acquired from Spike. Spike shifted uncomfortably then moved next to her on the couch. Sid looked away from him, almost like she was fighting the urge to forgive him. He had been her friend, almost like an uncle to her. She had looked up to him so much, then one day he was gone and all he left in his wake was heartache and a forgotten little girl.  
  
"You didn't even care. You just walked out on us. We were a family and you threw us away for some blonde piece of fluff." Tears threatened to spill as she spoke quietly. "You were his best friend, his brother. It killed him when you betrayed him like that."  
  
"Baby, I couldn't stay. I couldn't live my life like that anymore. I found something worth living for."  
  
"Wasn't I good enough? Wasn't he?" She looked up at him. "You didn't have to sneak around behind his back. I thought you were worth something, but you didn't even have the decency to be honest. You didn't even say goodbye."  
  
"I'm sorry Baby Blue, I didn't mean to hurt you." Spike sighed, suddenly realizing that his deception had hurt more than Vicious. "I guess I made a lot of mistakes when I left."  
  
Spike could see it now; her bitterness and jaded cynicism were only a shield she used to hide the pain, some of which he himself had caused. He scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulders, carefully drawing her closer to his side. She resisted for a moment, then curled up against him as if it were old times again. She wanted to forget, to lose herself in the same old smell of comfort. She wanted her family back again.  
  
"Sid, there is something I do need to ask you." Spike paused waiting until he had her full attention before continuing. "If Vicious didn't do this to you, then who did?"  
  
"Christ, were you both blind back then?" She shook her head.  
  
"Who did it Sid?" His heart had frozen in his chest, he knew the answer now, but he wanted to hear it from her lips.  
  
"Joseph."  
  
Spike's right hand curled into a fist reflexively, bile and anger choked him. If only he had paid more attention, if only he had been around more, if only he had taken her with. The stray thoughts filled his mind as he planned his revenge for her. Only one other question remained to be answered.  
  
"When did it start?"  
  
"The night of the tattoo, he waited until you both left." She shook slightly as she whispered out her response. "He knew it would be at least a couple weeks until either of you returned."  
  
"You're birthday." He's eyes shut and he recalled that day with vivid clarity. "I'm so sorry Baby."  
  
She buried her face in his side, hiding her tears in his jacket, and Spike rubbed her back as she cried. Jet came back out holding a bowl of clear soup. He looked from her to Spike then back again. One eyebrow quirked up as he looked back to Spike questioningly. Spike simply nodded, and hugged the little girl gently.  
  
"It's gonna be ok baby. Come on now, sit up and eat some soup. We need to get you strong again." Spike murmured to her.  
  
Jet was surprised; he had never seen Spike so caring with anyone or anything. It was almost as if his carefree manner had completely vanished. Obsidian sat up sniffling and looked around. Both Jet and Spike watched her slide the cold mask back over herself. Spike reached out and took her face in his hands.  
  
"Don't, you're safe. This is Jet, he's one of the best friends I've ever had, and I know he would no sooner hurt you than Vicious would."  
  
Obsidian relaxed slightly and looked at Jet, really looked at Jet for the first time. She could see the concern in his eyes, and the way he held himself spoke of friendship and camaraderie with Spike. He leaned in closer to her and extended his hand with a timid smile on his face.  
  
"Shall we start over?" At her slight nod, he took her offered hand. "Name's Jet Black, welcome to the Bebop."  
  
"My name is Obsidian." She spoke softly, letting him see the real her for a change. 


	10. Break Stuff

Chapter 9  
  
Break Stuff  
  
February 9, 2071  
  
Beads of sweat formed on Joseph's brow as he punched in the numbers on his transmitter that would connect him to Vicious' office. He had looked everywhere for the brat, but she had vanished without a trace. The last time anyone had seen her the little twit, she had wandered straight into the heart of the White Tiger's territory. His contact had made no move to stop her since she wasn't his problem. He waited, speech already formed in his mind as to what he was going to say to her violent and protective benefactor.  
  
The screen flared to life and a beautiful woman sat before him. Her rich brown hair was pulled back into a professional looking bun and her business suit cost more than the young thieves he controlled brought home in a month. A look of distaste briefly flashed across her fine boned features then steadied into a look of pure professionalism.  
  
"Mister Sikes," She stated in a matter of fact tone with a clipped British accent. "How may I assist you?"  
  
Joseph stared at the screen like he was actually someone of importance. "Yeah, let me talk to Vicious."  
  
"Mister Vicious is already on his way to your domicile." She emphasized mister to drive it home to Joseph whom she thought was the better man. "I suggest you tidy up before he arrives."  
  
Joseph's eyes widened and his jaw unhinged. "He's... He's coming here?" He stammered out.  
  
"Your wit and comprehensive reasoning astounds me Mister Sikes." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Yes, Mister Vicious is coming to see you. Will that be all today, or shall I repeat myself again?"  
  
His face became distorted with anger and she deftly cut him off before he could speak. "Very well then, good day."  
  
The screen went as blank as Joseph's mind. He had no idea how much time he had until death himself came to his door. Whirling away from the transmitter screen, he quickly picked up discarded clothes, throwing them into a near-by closet. Barely five minutes went by before the knock came at the door. Shin opened the door without waiting for Joseph and stepped in, giving a cursory sneer about the disorderly room. Shin turned without a word to Joseph and held the door for Vicious. The sharp winter wind caught his hair as Vicious paused in the doorway, visually inspecting the living area before he stepped in.  
  
"Where is my child?" He stated flatly his voice carrying the usual rasp.  
  
"Sir, I didn't know you were coming until a few moments ago." Joseph mentally cursed the janitor who cleaned Vicious' office for failing to inform him of this sudden visit, as he offered Vicious a chair. "Your secretary was good enough to tell me you would be arriving when I called."  
  
"Ms. Thompson is more than competent in her position, but she is not who I am here to see." Vicious stood and eyed the offered chair warily as if he expected something to be living in it. "Why did you call me? Is Obsidian having problems at school again?"  
  
Joseph hesitated then looked at Vicious pleadingly, almost desperately. "No Sir, I talked with her teachers, and there haven't been anymore problems at school. There have been a multitude of problems here at home with her though."  
  
Vicious chanced the chair and sat, quirking an eyebrow as he did. "What sort of problems?"  
  
Joseph took a deep breath before continuing. He knew that he was playing a game of chance and his life was forfeit with one false step. His heart pounded furiously in his chest and his hands twitched with the alcoholic reflexive need for the bottle. Vicious silently noted all of these things and nodded imperceptibly to Shin. Shin caught the small incline of Vicious' head and began to circle the room cautiously and carefully looking about.  
  
"Well Sir, lately she's grown into a bully with the other children, and I have to admit, with me. She uses your name as leverage telling anyone who gets in her way that she will have you remove them if they anger her. She's moody, unpredictable, and quite the little actress. She does anything to get her way, including hurting them using the kung-fu moves that you taught her."  
  
"It's Jeet-Kun-Do, but continue."  
  
Joseph nodded, not really listening, and pressed forward into dangerous territory. "She's mouthy and very manipulative, saying things like if I don't let her do what she wants she'll tell you that I'm hurting her in some way or another."  
  
"And what is it that she wants to be doing?" Vicious asked dangerously.  
  
The tone of the question was completely lost on Joseph as he continued with a growing confidence. "Well Mister Vicious, she has taken to wandering off anytime she likes to do only the gods know what. She comes home at all hours, sometimes even the next day."  
  
Vicious straightened in the chair as anger flooded his mind. Shin stopped his wanderings directly behind Joseph, who was completely unaware of the other man's location. Vicious forced himself to relax, but could not take the anger out of his eyes.  
  
"Why did you not inform me of this sooner?" He growled.  
  
"Sir, she was threatening to have me killed if I informed you. For all I know, she'd cut my throat in my sleep." Joseph whined. "She's been coming home with more money than you give her for her allowance and things I know she can't afford. I've even had to go down and pick her up from a couple stores and try and talk them out of pressing charges on shoplifting."  
  
Vicious' eyes narrowed even further as he listened to the weak man's tirade. He wondered how he had missed it before, the spineless attitude. This was not the environment he wished his protégée to be raised in. As soon as he discerned her whereabouts, he decided, she would be removed to a more suitable living arrangement.  
  
"Where is she?" Vicious asked malevolently.  
  
"I dunno, she took off the other day and I haven't seen her since." Joseph said finally getting to the point.  
  
Vicious nodded and Shin grabbed the unsuspecting man by his collar, driving his fist into his back as he hauled him to his feet. Joseph cried out and almost fell onto his knees as Shin punched him again in the kidneys. Shin had never liked this sniveling worm, and took great pleasure in administering physical harm upon him.  
  
"Where is she?" Shin hissed into Joseph's ear.  
  
"She was heading into the White Tiger territory!" Joseph screamed out as Shin's gloved fist impacted with his lower spine.  
  
"Why was she going there?" Shin questioned him as he worked Joseph over like a heavy bag.  
  
"I don't know! My contact said she was with a guy!" Joseph's ribs cracked and he screamed out in agony the same as Obsidian had done when he had broken hers all those many times.  
  
"What guy?" Shin's questions were short and to the point as he finally let Joseph fall to the floor.  
  
"His name is Jet, he's about six foot tall, bald, cybernetic arm." Joseph whimpered as he held his side.  
  
Shin took the opportunity to kick him in the same broken spot Joseph was holding, before dragging him back to his feet. He had wanted to wipe the smirk off that particular toad's face for a while. Vicious stood and stared coldly at the husk of a man before speaking.  
  
"You have one opportunity to find her. Fail and you will serve as a warning to her next guardian." He turned and strode from the room giving Shin the chance to kick him one more time.  
  
Both men stood on the street, looking menacingly at the house one last time before Shin opened the limousine door for Vicious. After Vicious got in, Shin slipped into the car and it left the neighborhood behind. The ride was silent, then Vicious spoke.  
  
"What did you notice?"  
  
"There were perhaps half a dozen empty liquor bottles under the couch as if kicked there moments before we entered, signs of neglect, and old blood stains on the carpet. There were also three other children watching us from various hiding places and vantage points, one had a swollen lip and another looked like his nose had been broken several times."  
  
"Have my men pick the children up and remove them to a more secure location. After that, they are to look for this Jet person. Find out if he is real or simply a figment of Joseph's diseased mind."  
  
Shin did not answer, but simply nodded.  
  
"If he tries to run or I find that he is lying to me, he will spend the rest of his long and painful days in the chamber, whim to my mercy." 


	11. Maybe

Chapter 10  
  
February 17, 2071  
  
Mars  
  
Eight long days had passed on the Bebop as Jet and Spike watched over their newest charge. Unlike with Ed, Spike actually took an interest in what she was doing, saying, and how she was feeling. Jet found someone else to mother, and Obsidian reacted much in the same way as Spike, she hated it. However, Jet didn't give up, even resorting to tying her down with duct tape to the faded yellow couch in the hopes of keeping her in one place long enough to heal. Spike thought back on that memory and chuckled.  
  
~~ He had been out at the bar, wasting time playing pool and making a tidy sum sharking the patrons of the bar as he did. The hallway in the ship had spun slightly as he had entered, and he knew at that moment that the hangover he would have in the morning would be spectacular. The first thing he had seen upon entering the living quarters was Jet, asleep in the chair, book in his lap. He had apparently been reading a bedtime story to Sid. Spike had shrugged, thinking she was a bit too old for bedtime stories, until he had looked down at the couch and seen her eyes. She was wide-awake and furious. He had almost fallen over he was laughing so hard. Over her mouth was a strip of tape that rendered her silent, her hands were taped into fists and in turn taped to her chest. When he pulled away the green blanket that covered her, he saw that her ankles had been loosely taped together and in turn taped to the couch cushion itself. At that point, Spike Spiegel, hardened bounty hunter and ex-syndicate assassin, almost lost his mind he was laughing so hard. Jet woke up and had glared at him. ~~  
  
~~ "Quiet. You'll wake her up." Jet growled softly. ~~  
  
~~ "Oh she's up and she looks pretty pissed off to me." Spike slurred as he stumbled to his room. "She try and run off again?" ~~  
  
~~ "Yes." Jet barked the angry reply at Spike's closing door. ~~  
  
After that day, she hadn't tried to run again. Spike figured she'd finally gotten it in her head that they weren't going to just let her go, no matter what she said or how she acted. Sid had really pushed all the limits testing their patience. Between her attitude problem and her extreme independence, she had driven Jet straight up the wall alongside Spike. Ed refused to get close to her, but Ein would sit right by her side. Obsidian didn't pay to much attention to Ein when she thought anyone was looking, but the second she was alone it was a totally different story. She would pet the little dog affectionately and talk to him softly about what a good boy he was.  
  
When she finally pushed them too far with her mouth and behavior, Spike coldly sat her down and explained that she could quite easily be dropped off at an orphanage on Pluto. They weren't about to cut her loose on the streets of Mars any more than they would raise a hand to her, no matter how tempting it might be. Once she had a clear understanding that she was safe, she calmed down considerably and even began a timid friendship with Ed. Spike was surprised to find that they actually had something in common, they both loved to play internet games. Since that day, they were hard pressed to pry Obsidian off the computer long enough to check their mail. Spike walked into the living area only to find Obsidian back on the computer again and Ed on the floor, both of them playing another game of internet monopoly.   
  
"Ok kids, its time to go to the store." Spike waited until they looked up to continue, "Who want's to go with?"  
  
Both girls jumped up with shouts of "Me Me ME!"  
  
Jet chuckled happily as he came out of Faye's old room with her winter coat. "Guess wherever she took off to, she wasn't worried about catching a chill."  
  
Jet wrapped Ed up in Faye's coat and smiled. "It's a bit big, but it should keep you warm. Sid, I have a sweater for you to wear under your trench, so you won't get sick again. The first thing we need to do is get you some new clothes."  
  
Ed danced about swimming in Faye's coat; her hands were completely swallowed by the sleeves and the bottom of the coat hung down almost past her tanned knees. Sid allowed Jet to help her get on his sweater before running for her trench. Jet stood up and looked at Spike, his face wore an expression of what Spike swore looked just like paternal pride, though Jet would never admit it. After the two adults put on their coats, the group left in high spirits to the store. The money Spike had made playing pool would buy Sid her clothes and pay for a few bits of food until they left Mars for another bounty at the end of the week. Jet carried Ed on his back since she hadn't quite mastered the art of wearing anything on her feet, and Obsidian walked along holding Spike's hand as if it were old times.  
  
"First stop is for some clothes for you." Jet said to Sid as they turned the corner walking out of the docks and into the market district. "We don't have a lot of money, so we're going to a resale shop ok?" Sid nodded happily and Jet continued. "Do you know where one is?"  
  
"Yep" chirped Sid, "Take a left here and go down two blocks. I like that one best."  
  
They walked along chatting between them as they went, until they came to a simple storefront with resale painted on the window. They entered the shop and about half an hour later came back out with two pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, and a sweater for Sid. Ed had gotten a pair of mismatched socks that caused both Spike and Jet to roll their eyes. They knew that she would never wear them, but they seemed to make her happy so they had thrown them in the basket anyway. The small group had then made their way to the market to pick up some supplies, this time with Spike carrying Ed, though he grumbled about it for the first half of the walk. Once in the market, Ed was deposited back onto the ground as they split up and wandered the isles looking at the food.  
  
"Hey Jet," Spike yelled to Jet from down one of the isles, "You better be getting some beef to go with those bell peppers."  
  
"You wish." Jet yelled back in response to Spike's teasing.  
  
Neither one of the men noticed the man behind the counter pick up the phone and place a call.  
  
**  
  
Vicious sat in his office, anger rolling through him. The stress of the last few days of worry was eating away at him, leaving a lingering migraine in its wake. He absently rubbed at his temples as he rethought the search process again. It had been over a week with no sign of Obsidian. He never knew that he could feel like this again, not since he had lost Julia had anyone effected him like this. This feeling made him vulnerable and he wondered for the thousandth time if he wasn't risking too much by using Red Dragon resources to look for her. As far as he knew, the Van didn't know of her existence and he preferred to keep it that way, though he didn't know how he would hide her this time. He did not want her used as leverage against him, which is undoubtedly what the Van would do with her. A simple quiet knock at the door gave him the second he needed to compose himself before Shin walked in.  
  
"What is it?" Vicious snarled, his migraine must have been bothering him more than he knew, he thought to himself.  
  
"One of the shopkeepers that we use for distribution is on the line. He says that he has information about the man called Jet."  
  
Vicious clicked on the display without waiting to hear any more. His eyes narrowed in pain, though to look at him you would almost think it was contempt. "Yes?"  
  
"Sir? I was told to call if I received any information about a man named Jet. He is over six feet tall, bald, with a cybernetic arm correct?"  
  
"Yes, that is correct."  
  
"Was it his left or right arm sir? The report didn't specify." The shopkeeper was direct and to the point, which, at that moment Vicious appreciated more than painkillers.  
  
"It was his left arm. Do you have anything to report?" He growled.  
  
"Yes sir, he is in my store currently, in the company of two young girls and a tall green haired man."  
  
"What?" Vicious paused. "What do the girls look like?"  
  
"One is very... active, with red hair and an odd orange color eyes. The other has long black hair and bright blue eyes, she is more subdued than the other child."  
  
Vicious felt relief flood through him, though his facial expression never changed. "Very well, my men will be there shortly. This information has been helpful, thank you."  
  
The screen went blank as Vicious turned to Shin. "She is found, send four men to retrieve her and bring her back to me."  
  
Shin nodded and turned to walk out the door. "Shin?" He paused in the doorway and turned to look back at Vicious. "She better be completely unharmed."  
  
**  
  
Jet and Spike checked out of the store while the shopkeeper was busy with a phone call. The cashier rang them up and seemed to take quite the interest in Spike, flirting with him shamelessly while Jet bagged the groceries. Obsidian rolled her eyes then couldn't seem to help opening her mouth and making a comment.  
  
"Are you in heat or something?" She asked smugly.  
  
"Obsidian!" Spike hissed at the same time Jet, in a very disapproving tone, said, "Don't be so damned obnoxious."  
  
The girl behind the counter stared at her, shocked and embarrassed.  
  
"What?" Sid said as she slid a glance down at the floor.  
  
Jet raised an eyebrow at her and Spike turned back to pay the cashier.  
  
"Thanks, have a nice one." The girl behind the counter muttered as she handed Spike the change.  
  
The group walked out the door silently, Ed being carried back to the ship by Jet, and Spike carrying the bags. Sid walked along quietly beside them kicking rocks as she went. She felt weird inside, some undefined emotion chewed at her stomach. She hesitated a look at Spike, but he completely ignored her. Jet looked down at her disapprovingly when she glanced up at him. Obsidian couldn't understand it, she actually felt bad for insulting the clerk, though she didn't know why. She did however have a sneaking suspicion that Spike and Jet were making that feeling worse than it normally would have been. Ed looked lost in thought, though that wasn't uncommon, and it was halfway back to the ship that she uttered the words that made Spike openly glare at Sid and frustrated Jet beyond all belief.  
  
"What does 'in heat' mean?"  
  
**  
  
Four men wearing expensive suits walked into the market after exiting the limousine that was waiting outside. The shopkeeper sucked in his breath sharply, hoping that he wouldn't be held responsible for the man and the girl getting away. He knew, however, that shit rolled downhill and he was at the bottom of the food chain currently. The men walked up to the counter and the shopkeeper sent the cashier into the back to stock the supply shelves. She had left as eagerly as the shopkeeper would have liked to.  
  
"Judging by the fact that we are alone in here, I assume that the party in question has left. Am I correct?" The youngest man, about seventeen years old and their leader obviously, spoke.  
  
"Yes sir." The shopkeeper said respectfully to the man he remembered as Shin. "I didn't think it would be beneficial to try and detain them."  
  
"A wise choice." Shin noted, "You have the security tape, I need to verify that it was them."  
  
The shopkeeper closed and locked the door, then led Shin to the small closet-like room that served as the office. He pushed open a cabinet and a small recording device was found. After a moment of rewinding, the man found the frame that he was looking for. Shin stared at the screen, his mind rejecting the image before him.  
  
"Spike." The name slipped unbidden from Shin's lips.  
  
This was impossible, he was dead. Vicious had killed him in the church on that fateful day. No report had been made about him living, one would think that if something of this magnitude had happened there would have been a report filed. A small glimmer of hope ignited in Shin's heart. Perhaps he come back to them, perhaps he was simply biding his time. In the span of a second the decision was made. He would not tell Vicious of this sighting. A moment later, the object of his quest appeared on the grainy screen, Obsidian. There was a man with her. Cybernetic arm, bald, scar on his face, it must be the man Vicious was looking for.  
  
"Freeze the frame there." Shin directed. "Now, zoom in on his face."  
  
The shopkeeper complied readily, still unsure as to his fate before the Red Dragon's men left. He focused the image then cleaned it up using a security program he had installed on the store's computer. When the image was to Shin's liking, he copied it to disk and handed it to the young man. Shin simply walked from the office holding the disk, proceeding out of the store with his men around him. When they reached the waiting limousine, he turned to one of the men.  
  
"Deliver this to the police, press charges for kidnapping and have them place a bounty on this man called Jet."  
  
Shin handed him the disk, then got into the limousine with the other two men. As they drove off, his mind was full of questions and very few answers. What fate would befall them all in the end, it all hinged on the whim of two men. One cold as ice and the other as carefree as the wind. 


	12. Angel

Neither Jet nor Spike spoke to Obsidian the entire way back to the ship. Sid snorted, as she finally found the part of her that didn't care. If the cold shoulder routine was there method for getting even for rude comments then she just wasn't going to pay attention to them either. Two can play at this game, and Sid was an expert at ignoring reality. She walked through the front door of the ship with all of the grace and charm of every surly indignant teen. She dropped onto the couch to sulk at what she saw as their bullshit attitude problem, when it came to sulking Sid was gold medal material.  
  
"Are you going to help put away the groceries?" Jet asked, speaking to her for the first time since leaving the store.  
  
Obsidian feigned surprise, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh my god, have I been relegated to the status of human again? Be still my beating heart!"   
  
Spike poked he's head out from the kitchen as Jet slowly counted to ten. "If you're just gonna be a bitch about it, then do it in your room." Spike growled, "Christ you're a drama queen."  
  
"Oh and I've had such a long list of wonderful role models." She spit out at Spike.  
  
Spike's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to comment but Jet stepped in by simply picking up Sid. She panicked for a moment, eyes wide and kicking wildly. Jet deftly kept out of the way of her small sneakers as he walked out of the room. "Let me go!" She shrieked with a fearful edge to her voice as Jet walked toward the room she'd been sleeping in. Jet sighed tiredly as he dropped her to her feet inside her room. Obsidian spun around and jumped back several feet dropping into a familiar martial arts stance.  
  
"When are you going to understand that nobody here is going to hurt you?" His expression spoke volumes about the pain he felt being shoved into the same category as whoever had hurt her. "Just stay in here until we take off. We should be gone in about an hour."  
  
With that Jet turned and walked out back toward the kitchen. Sid reached a hand out, as if to stop him, but honestly didn't know what to say. She knew somewhere deep inside that nobody would do anything to hurt her here. The fear rode inside her skin, someplace deep and afraid that couldn't be soothed yet though. A small voice deep in her mind said that she didn't deserve to be here, that she didn't deserve to be warm and safe. She was used trash, worthless and thrown to the side. All of the bitter nasty things Joseph had ever said to her played in the back of her mind as she sat down on the floor by the bed. Obsidian hugged her knees and fought back tears.  
  
***  
  
Joseph paced the room the pain from his broken ribs almost as blinding as his anger. How dare that little lackey bitch hit him. He had done his job; he feed the little worthless bitch and gave her a roof over her head. So what if he smacked her around when she mouthed off or disobeyed? He'd done so much for her, and she should be kissing his ass not making excuses. It's her fault he had to hit her, it's not like he could let her think she was in charge of this house, his house. Joseph kicked a chair angrily. They had no right to come take the kids out of the house and put them into different homes. How did they think he was going to get the money to eat and pay the bills? They'd stolen his means of survival. It was going to take months to train new kids, he wasn't even sure he could grab more kids anyway. Joseph kicked the couch scowling down at the junkie he'd picked up earlier.  
  
"Get up!" He yelled then winced from the broken ribs. "Get dressed and for god sakes, put on the clothes I got for you. You need to look and act like a mother damnnit."  
  
She rolled over and looked at him through bleary eyes. "What are we doing this for again?"  
  
"If you're too stupid to figure it out then you're even dumber than I thought. Just do as you're told and you can have all the fucking drugs your worthless ass can handle."  
  
She nodded, already jonesing for another fix. "Yeah, whatever."  
  
After she had showered and put on the matronly dress and flats, the two of them walked down to the pier and into the territory of the White Tiger Syndicate. They hadn't gone far when she started to complain about the walk, the shoes, and the fact that she was hungry. Joseph sneered his contempt, he didn't care in the least what she felt as long as she did her job and got the damn kid back. His rat-faced informant had told him the pier number and gave him a description of the ship where this Jet guy could be found. The concerned parents would just rescue their daughter and take her back to the safety and comfort of her loving home. That was the plan, and it would work. Joseph was sure of it.  
  
They drew nearer to their goal as the pier drew closer. Joseph straightened his tie as he walked down the pier, the woman dragged her feet like some worn out old whore and he found himself repulsed by her again. If he didn't need her so much right now, he'd just strangle the pitiful life out of her right now instead of when he was done. He looked up at the ship that held the girl he would have again. Nothing could stop him now and he smirked, secure in that knowledge. His gaze slid across the deck, drawn to the movement at the edge of his vision. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water down his back. How had he survived? The man had been blown up by a grenade for fuck sake! He must be indestructible! Joseph panicked slightly and he grabbed the arm of the woman and dragged her into the shadows.   
  
"Change of plans. We need more planning on this." He stared in awe of the angry looking man who was smoking on the bow of the ship. Joseph wrote down the ID tag number on the side of the ship then pulled the woman back to the house as she complained. Joseph wasn't paying any attention to her whining, his mind was on one person only. Spike.  
  
***  
  
Spike flicked his cigarette into the water and took one last look at the horizon before wandering back into the ship. Jet was in the cockpit getting the ship ready to take off. Spike walked up behind the pilot chair and casually glanced out the window. Jet paused in the preflight checks and looked at his partner with a curious expression.  
  
"Sometimes I think I'm actually sad to leave this shithole." The soft words uttered from Spike were so low that Jet almost thought he imagined it.  
  
"I know what you mean." Jet stated flatly. "We'll see it again soon enough though."  
  
Spike didn't comment, just stared across the bay as the water lapped gently against the side of the old barge. The sun was starting to set and the brilliant light danced a multitude of colors across the water and sky. If it weren't for the waves, you could blur your vision enough so that they both looked like there was no border separating the two. Jet looked thoughtful as he stared out across the water with Spike. Neither of their minds was on the beauty of the view, but both thought of faraway things. When Jet spoke next his voice carried with the patience that he had been showing with everyone lately.  
  
"You know, I've been hearing a name a lot over the past week or so." Jet paused and looked to Spike who had tensed slightly. "I've heard this name before and it just seems to bring with it pain and trouble."  
  
"Drop it Jet. Just leave it alone." Spike warned his partner and friend.  
  
"I wish I could Spike-o, but if there is a chance he may get involved, then I need to know what the hell I can…"   
  
"I said drop it!" Spike's voice was deceptively low and dangerous as he interrupted Jet.  
  
Spike turned on his heel and stalked out with lethal grace. Jet slammed his fist down on the console. "Damn it Spike! I deserve an answer on this!" He yelled after his partner.  
  
***  
  
Bob sat at his desk at the ISSP on Ganymede. He was bored and sifting through reports as they came in, mostly off world bullshit that he could care less about. He flicked through the reports listlessly. Sometimes he wished he was still working the beat, but a life could end in a second from a stray bullet. Bob intended to live long enough to retire and left the risk taking hero antics to the rookies. His screen blipped with a new report and he flicked it open with a keystroke only to spit his room temperature coffee all over the screen.  
  
"What the fuck?" He muttered as he read the report that included a grainy photo, a bounty of 10 million wulongs and a warrant for the arrest of his old friend Jet Black. Lucky for Jet all they had was a first name for right now, but with a bounty of 10 mil in today's money crunch was going to pull hunters from all over.  
  
"Shit" Bob muttered as he dialed the number he knew from memory. He needed to warn Jet. "Pick up you stubborn bastard."  
  
Bob gave up, frustrated, after the fifth ring, and began reading the report in detail. Kidnapping a little girl, that wasn't Jet's style. What the fuck had pushed him over the edge, or was this a set up? Did Jet have a stowaway he didn't know about? Could this just be an honest mistake? Hundreds of scenarios ran through Bob's mind as he read the details of the crime.  
  
***  
  
Jet steered the old rusted ship through hyperspace ignoring the ringing of the communicator, more than likely it was just Faye wanting to know where the ship was. She was more than likely broke, hungry, and half drunk. She was a hornet's nest he just didn't want to deal with today. Jet knew that he could easily flip on the autopilot function and do something else, but he was still seething about being left out of the loop. Damn it, Spike knew how important it was to be prepared and information was king to good preparations. Jet felt a small hand touch his right arm and he looked into the eyes of the only person on the ship more out of the loop than him. Ed seemed so small and fragile standing there as if she had been waiting for him to notice her. Jet flipped on the autopilot and turned the chair to look at her.  
  
"What's on your mind Ed?" He spoke softly, she seemed so serious right now, and that worried him a little.  
  
"Jet-person? Is Sid-girl a cowgirl?" Ed asked him seriously.  
  
"No Ed, she's just a little girl like you." Jet smiled reassuringly.  
  
"Sid-girl is not like Ed. She is very different. Something inside is different then Ed. Sid-girl," Ed looked around almost cautiously then seemed to decide that no one was listening in and resumed speaking. "She cries at night. Ed can hear her. Sometimes she looks at nothing like you and Spike-Spike."  
  
"Ed, Obsidian is used to being alone, and I think that sometimes it's hard for her to be around so many people." Jet picked up Ed and sat her on his lap as he spoke what he knew to be a lie.  
  
"Jet, how come Sid-girl looked like Spike when she got here? If she's not a cowgirl then why did she look like one?" Ed wasn't buying the earlier explanation and Jet knew it.  
  
"Sometimes," Jet paused to get what he was going to say straight. He didn't want to explain this. He didn't want to put a hole in the fabric of Ed's naïve reality. He drew on the explanation he had been given when he had seen his first bloody domestic disturbance. "Sometimes really good people find really bad people. They can get hurt really bad when that happens, and it doesn't mean that they aren't still good, but sometimes the good people don't know anymore. Sid is scared and confused because she got hurt by a bad man and she doesn't know why."  
  
Jet knew he was making a mess out of this little speech and stopped to try and find a way to reword it so Ed would understand. Before he could continue, Ed asked a question that Jet found difficult to answer. "If a bad man hurt her, how come Sid-girl didn't go tell the police-people?"  
  
"I don't know Ed, I just don't know." Jet replied sadly.  
  
"Did Sid-girl used to be on the ship before Ed?" It almost seemed that Ed was afraid that she was being replaced.  
  
"No Ed, you were the first kid on board that I know of." Jet tried to smile reassuringly.  
  
"How come her and Spike-Spike fight like Spike-Spike and Faye-Faye?" Ed's eyes blinked a bit at that.  
  
"Spike used to take care of her years ago I think. I don't really know Ed, but I think that Obsidian is mad at Spike sometimes for going away. I think she's afraid he'll go away again."  
  
Ed nodded and smiled brightly, hopped off Jet's lap and ran out of the room arms outstretched like a superhero and yelling something about Cosmic Warrior Ed. Jet shook his head, relived that he'd gotten off lightly as he saw it. There were so many questions that she could have asked that would have left him in a bind to answer. Jet stood and walked to the kitchen to start making dinner, grumbling half-heartedly about the fact that nobody else in this creaking tub seemed to be able to cook. 


	13. It's My Life

Mars  
  
Vicious sat at his desk and sighed in frustration. Shin had just left after informing him of the fact that Obsidian was still in the possession of the man called Jet. He opened the pill bottle he had removed from his desk drawer and swallowed two of the painkillers that he used to tame the headaches that ripped though his mind. Stress induced migraines the doctor had called them. For all the advances in medicine they had made in the past hundred years, understanding of the human brain was still beyond the grasp of the current medical professionals. Vicious couldn't help but blame himself for the current state of affairs.  
  
If only he had paid more attention to her living arrangements, to her guardian, to any multitude of things. He should have had Lin and Shin check on her weekly when he was away at that damned war. A muscle in his cheek twitched as he thought of all the things that he could have done but didn't. He had been wrapped so tightly in his grief over losing Spike and Julia to what he still saw as an unforgivable betrayal. He casually flipped on the communicator and dialed Shin.  
  
"I want you to go to Obsidian's school and talk to her teachers. See who her friends are and talk to them about what she has been like lately."  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
"I will run her abductor through the database and see what we have on him." Vicious was tired and it was reflected in his voice. He hadn't slept well since he found out that she was gone. The bags under his eyes were dark and they seemed to make him look almost hopeless.  
  
"Sir, if I may suggest. Get one of the data runners to take care of it and try and get some sleep. You won't be at your best when we go to retrieve her if you are sick."  
  
"Your concern is noted." Vicious stated flatly as he ended the transmission.  
  
Perhaps Shin was right. He didn't want Obsidian to see him like this. He stood and walked down to the dojo to try and wear himself out. Perhaps if he wore his body down enough, his mind would rest during his sleep instead of conjuring images of what may have happened to his little girl.  
  
***  
  
Hyperspace on the way to Ganymede  
  
Obsidian timidly opened the door to her room and stepped into the hall. She had been in there for about two hours, crying off and on. She truly did feel sorry about hurting Jet like she had. She wasn't quite ready to face him and tell him yet so she walked down the hall that lead to the back cargo areas. She planned to rummage around in some of the boxes she'd seen back there and see if there was anything interesting in any of them. Instead, what she found was Spike doing his katas over and over in the shadowy darkness. She watched him silently from the doorway as he gracefully went through the motions of fighting his invisible opponent. Sid could almost see him in the backyard of the little house she had lived at, teaching her those same moves patiently when she was just a little girl. He seemed almost godly back then, his fluffy green hair being teased gently by the wind, smiling his encouragement at her childish attempts to mimic his movements. Vicious would always sit to the side, smiling and watching, occasionally calling out his praise.  
  
"Are you going to join in, or did you forget everything I taught you?" He smirked as he continued his workout.  
  
Obsidian smiled wistfully at her memories of what she called the old days before joining him at his side. "How long have you known I was there?"  
  
"About ten minutes." He replied casually before stopping to correct her stance. "You've gotten rusty, don't you practice anymore?"  
  
"Ah you know," She replied in a teasing sarcastic tone. "Life's been just too busy with work and I never seem to find the time."  
  
Spike seemed to sober at her reply then sighed and looked a little defeated. "I'm sorry Baby Blue. I didn't know, I should have known, should have paid more attention. I guess I failed you back then."  
  
She stopped and shook her head. "Nobody failed me. I should have said something. I guess I was afraid. I thought that I could handle it, then I was too afraid of Vicious being angry that I had lied to him so many times, saying I was happy and things were fine." She looked small and fragile just then, staring up at him with pain filled eyes. "I miss our family. I want us together again, like it used to be."  
  
He shook his head. "No Obsidian, it can't be like that anymore. I can't go back, and neither can you."  
  
She froze. "What? What do you mean I can't go back?"  
  
He looked out the window as hyperspace flew past. "I failed you back then, but I'm not going to make the same mistake again. You deserve better than that. You're going to be safe from that life now."  
  
"Spike, what are you talking about? You can't keep me here. Vicious would be so worried."  
  
"I don't give a damn how Vicious feels. You aren't going back to him or the syndicate. It's not safe, it's not a good life for a little girl."  
  
"So what? You walk out on everybody just cause you don't like it anymore, and now you think you have the right to run my life? You didn't give a shit about me; you didn't even spare me a backward glance when you left. You never asked if I wanted to go then and now you think you can just take me away from Vicious like you did Julia? What the fuck gives you the right?"  
  
Spike knew she was right, and it made him angry with himself. That anger crept into his voice as he replied almost with a growl. "Because I'm the adult and you're the kid. You do what you're told, because I know better than you what that life is like and where it will take you. For that matter, I'm not doing this to hurt Vicious, but to keep you safe!"  
  
"I don't want your damned safety. I want my life back. I want my family back. If you won't come back and be part of our family again, then at least let me go back to Vicious. We were happy, and he'd keep me safe this time!"  
  
"I said no and that's final!" He shouted angrily. "You better get used to it here, you're going to be here until you're eighteen or we find you a nice, safe, foster home."  
  
"You absolute bastard! Shove your 'safety' and shove your foster dump off!" Obsidian shouted before turning and running out of the room.  
  
Spike growled softly before dropping himself back into his katas and pushing harder than he had in a very long time. About an hour later he walked toward the shower, worn out both physically and emotionally.  
  
***  
  
Jet tried to calm his mind and rioting emotions by the careful meditation of trimming his precious bonsai trees. He'd been sitting there with the clippers for about half an hour just trying to figure out where to place the first cut, when Spike walked in hair still damp from the shower. He looked at his partner, towel still around his neck, then sat and began to talk. Jet did not interrupt, he knew Spike needed to let it out.  
  
"She was five when I first met her. I had noticed that Vicious had been calmer back then, more relaxed when he'd return from where ever he disappeared to. I would bug him all the time at first, where he was going, who he was seeing. He would laugh and say he had a girl that he'd go see. I thought he had a girlfriend he was hiding from me. I would tease him about it. I'd say things like 'time to go have your girl make you smile' when he got tense. I didn't know he had a kid."   
  
Spike sighed and lit a cigarette. The smoke curled in the air and he stared off into the past. Jet was silent waiting for him to continue, knowing that interrupting him meant he might not finish.  
  
"After a while I was riding his ass about meeting her. I felt left out I guess, we were like brothers, we did everything together. I pushed and pushed, accusing him off letting a piece of ass come between us. He swore that wasn't what was happening. We almost came to blows over it. Finally he relented and took me to the edge of the territory. It was a quiet little neighborhood. Not like the shithole it became." Spike paused in his ramblings and took a long drag off the cigarette.   
  
Jet laid down the clippers and turned his full attention to his partner. "I laughed at him about the house with its tidy yard and white picket fence. I told him he was living in a dream. He had scowled and told me to mind my tongue and manners when I was there. I laughed again and he just shot me a glare that would freeze ice in Tijuana. I put up my hands in surrender and agreed. We knocked on the door and a man answered. He was pretty nondescript, mid thirties, thinning hair. He let us in and smiled pleasantly. We walked into this clean little living room and the guy motioned to the backyard saying 'she's outside'."  
  
"We walked outside, and I was making little guesses in my head about what kind of girl could keep his attention for two whole years. Nothing could have prepared me for Obsidian." Spike looked right into Jet's eyes as he said that. "She was playing on a swing in the cutest little blue dress. When she saw Vicious, she smiled and it was like coming into the sun after years in the dark. She ran to him with open arms and a huge smile on her face. Vicious simply smiled and kneeled to catch her. The part that shook me the worst was the fact that she called him Papa back then."  
  
Jet started, shocked, and Spike let out a bitter laugh before taking another drag on his cigarette. "So Vicious is her father?" Jet asked with a bewildered tone.  
  
Spike shook his head and stubbed out the cigarette butt. "No, he told me the story later that night. He took her while on a mission to Ganymede during August of 2062. He was supposed to collect a debt that a woman owed, and instead took the daughter."  
  
"I was a detective back then." Jet confusedly stated. "I don't remember any syndicate kidnappings of little girls."  
  
"You wouldn't." Spike stated. "It was never reported."  
  
"What, but why?" Not reporting it was like not caring to Jet. How could someone not care about that little girl, especially her parents?  
  
"It was a single mother and she would have been killed if she said anything. As it was, Vicious was disgusted by the fact that the woman had tried to flee the house when they arrived, leaving Obsidian alone in the house with them." Spike shook his head and looked into Jet's eyes. "Kids go missing all the time when the syndicates are involved. Nobody really cares, some of the lucky ones end up in orphanages, and the other ones end up with the syndicates themselves. How do you think I joined?"  
  
Jet settled back in his chair and seemed to contemplate this new information. "So Vicious took her from her real mother and decided to train her to work for the syndicate?"  
  
"Originally, yes, but as time passed he seemed to actually see her as a daughter. I helped him train her in martial arts, swordplay, and he and I used to take her to a small shooting range in her neighborhood to teach her how to shoot. It was bliss for Vicious. It wasn't too long before he had gotten together with Julia and the two of them seemed to really be tight. It was 2067 when she really 'came of age'" Spike sneered. "Her eighth birthday. Vicious and I were as excited as a couple of proud parents, her shooting was extremely advanced for her age and she had made a significant improvement in both Jeet Kune Do and Tai Chi Chuan. We took her out to a tattoo parlor and got the Red Dragon symbol tattooed on the back of her neck."  
  
'That was the night everything started." Spike dropped his head into his hands and spoke while looking at the floor. He didn't seem to be able to look his friend in the eye anymore. "That night, after we dropped her off, Vicious and I went out and got flaming drunk. The limo dropped Vicious and I off at our respective apartments, but when I went inside mine, Julia was there." Spike looked up at Jet, almost pleading with him to understand. "I had almost gotten killed a few months back when a mission had gone bad, and she had nursed me back to health. I thought that I was dreaming, or I was just too drunk to care. We started messing around that night and it was like playing with fire. I loved her, I still love her. She was my best friend's girl. Hell, he was pretty much my brother."  
  
Spike stopped and lit another cigarette. Jet knew that this was hard for him, he didn't usually chain smoke like this. "That was the first night that Joseph hurt her." Spike stood and flung the lit cigarette into the corner, anger and frustration in his every move. "He raped her that night but I was too busy fucking my best friend's girl to do anything. He raped her and beat her over and over but I was too worried about keeping Vicious from finding out about me and Julia to notice."  
  
Jet honestly didn't know what to say, 'it's ok' just didn't seem to cut it. Instead he just stayed silent as Spike dropped into his chair again. "Julia couldn't stand kids, she went out to see Obsidian once, then came back and laughed at Vicious' pathetic attempt at normal life. The worst part was, I still loved her anyway. After that, everything was strained. Vicious couldn't get away as often because tensions between rival syndicates were through the roof. I stopped showing up completely to see her and then, a year later, well, I met you. I made a lot of bad moves back then, I don't regret what I've done except for leaving Obsidian behind."  
  
Jet nodded and Spike stood up. As he turned to leave, he looked back at Jet. "Vicious will come for her, but I don't intend to let him have her. I just thought you should know the whole story." 


	14. Lock, Step, & Gone

February 18, 2071  
  
Mars  
  
9:30 AM  
  
"I see." Vicious said with a deceptively calm tone to his voice. Shin knew the shit had hit the proverbial fan, that, and he was going to enjoy bring Joseph in. The display clicked off as Vicious ended the transmission with out a word of goodbye. Shin smirked; he knew Joseph was a dead man. As it happened, Shin had gone to the private school that Obsidian had attended only to find that the girl had not attended in two years and was currently being home schooled.   
  
The principal, a genuinely nice man, expressed concern over the welfare of Vicious' young ward. The last year that she had attended, several letters had not only been sent home, but she had been referred to the school counselors for repeated bruises about her face including black eyes. Shin had read copies of the letters home and the notes of the school counselor as it suggested that there was a severe level of abuse going on at home and a request had been put in to the ISSP to investigate. Obsidian denied any abuse and gave typical responses of falling down or fighting with a neighborhood bully. Nobody believed it, but the ISSP had their hands tied unless she spoke out about it. Shin left the school and got into the waiting car.  
  
"Take me to this address." He told the driver as he handed him a slip of paper.  
  
***  
  
Joseph had packed that night and the cab was outside waiting to take him and that stupid whore to the spaceport. He had a little under an hour to catch the flight. He had traced the ship ID of the 'Bebop' and found that it had entered hyperspace headed to Ganymede. He grabbed the woman's arm, she said her name was Mary but he usually just referred to her as bitch, and dragged her out the door. Joseph tossed his bags in the trunk and shoved her roughly into the cab. He would catch up to them on Ganymede.  
  
***  
  
The Van read the reports on the events of the week, stopping every so often to make a decision regarding some such business venture or another. It was fairly early in that they discovered the report of a sudden and sharp increase in the amount of resources that Vicious was suddenly putting to use. Their eyes narrowed as if the three were one.  
  
"I would much like to see the girl that young Vicious is so interested in." The one in the middle spoke in a rusty little used voice.  
  
"As would I." Stated the one on his right with a sadistic grin.  
  
"Perhaps young Vicious has another weakness beside his thirst for power and blood." Mused the one on the left.  
  
All three smiled knowingly before the one in the center spoke again. "Then we shall place our own bounty quietly, on the girl herself."  
  
The other two nodded, "Hai."  
  
***  
  
Shin's car pulled up to the curb in front of the little rundown house. He walked to the door and rang the bell. After a few minutes with no response, Shin drew his gun and kicked the door open. His weapon out, Shin methodically searched each room for any clue to where Joseph had gone. He could only find one however, a scrap of paper with the word Ganymede written on it.  
  
"Shit." Shin muttered as he walked out to the waiting car. "Vicious is not going to be pleased.  
  
***  
  
February 20, 2071  
  
Ganymede  
  
Jet landed the Bebop in the warm waters of the Ganymede Ocean with a smile. Things were finally getting back to normal, though for some reason Obsidian was not speaking to Spike beyond telling him to 'piss off'. Jet frowned at that thought. They were going to have to teach the girl a new vocabulary. The only words she seemed to be proficient with would make hardened career criminals blush. Jet turned off the engines and engaged the dock clamps then went to the hanger to do some much needed work on the Swordfish II. The way Spike beat on that poor fighter it was a miracle that even Jet could fix it. He shook his head and began to prepare for tomorrow's hunt.  
  
***  
  
Ganymede  
  
The tall auburn haired man was asleep in a chair, a book open over his closed eyes. The shorter Japanese man rolled his eyes as his partner began to snore softly. A quick kick to his foot woke the sleeping man from a pleasant dream. He shot awake and to his feet, book clattering to the floor.  
  
"What? What's going on? Are we under attack?" He muttered, blinking sleepily.  
  
"Only from your seismic snores, Ian. I think you hit about a 7 on the rictor scale." His partner laughed.  
  
"Very funny Toshi." Ian sighed. "Whad'yah wake me up for?"  
  
"Big Shots is coming on, and we gotta eat partner." Toshi replied in the male host's fake accent.  
  
"Oi! It's disturbing when you do that." Ian groaned.  
  
Toshi only grinned as he flicked on the monitor and switched channels until the familiar theme song filled the air. The dark skinned man and the buxom blonde, who's top which held together purely on wishful thinking, began to talk about the newest bounties on the list. An imposing picture of a scowling man in a grocery store was about the third bounty in, and the ten million wulongs reward offered made him a likely target for dinner. He wasn't much, just a kidnapper. Judy let out a squeal and announced that the dangerous 'hombre' was last seen headed for Ganymede according to a tip they had received. Ian grinned, knowing they couldn't have been here long. A picture came up of the pretty little girl that he had taken.  
  
"Aww... She's a little cutie!" Toshi said. "Poor little thing must be scared to death."  
  
"Christ, you're gonna go off on your 'damsel in distress' kick aren't you?" Ian groaned aloud what he already knew was true.  
  
"Holy shit Ian! There's a reward on her too!" Toshi laughed. "It's almost like a two for one special." He grinned over at Ian and mimicked Judy's dumb blonde tone while batting his eyelashes. "Round up time Shugah!"  
  
Ian cringed. "I swear to Christ, I'm gonna smack the shit outta you if you don't stop doing that."  
  
Toshi just laughed at Ian's usual response to his particular talent. He had always had a gift for mimicry. Mostly he just used it to drive Ian nuts, but every so often it did come in handy.  
  
"Come on, let's go get them."  
  
***  
  
Obsidian sat on the wing of the Swordfish II while Jet worked out a kink in its fuel system. Both men were planning the hunt that would take place after Jet finished fixing the temperamental fighter. Jonathan Andrews was a small time gunrunner with a seven million bounty on his head; he was listed armed and dangerous. Spike was going to canvas the bars looking for him, and Jet was going to take the various black market areas in town. Obsidian looked down from her perch on the wing.  
  
"Ok, what's my part?" She asked.  
  
"Nothing." Spike stated with a tone of finality in his voice.  
  
Obsidian glared at him, "If you're gonna drag me away from my 'oh so dangerous life' then I wanna know what kind of life you're dragging me in to. So I'm going too."  
  
"You're going to stay here and play with Ed." Jet said seriously.  
  
"Like hell I am!" Sid was seething, "I'm not getting left out on this."  
  
"You're too young, not going and that's the end of it." Spike glared at her.  
  
"I've done more shit than you think. If I'm going to live here, then I'm going to help." She glared back.  
  
"Great, I got a list of chores for you then." Jet said while he shut the engine compartment. "Go ahead and get looking Spike. I'm done here."  
  
Obsidian slid off the wing and landed on her feet. She glared once more at the two adults before walking back off into the ship again. Jet sighed and shook his head.  
  
"What are we going to do with her Spike?" He asked with a worried tone.  
  
"She'll get used to it when she figures out that she doesn't have to do everything on her own. She just needs some time I figure. Just leave her be Jet, she'll be ok." Spike smiled as he climbed into the cockpit.  
  
Jet shook his head and grinned. "See yah when I get out there. I'm gonna clean up then take the Hammerhead out."  
  
Spike waved and took off out the hanger doors. Jet showered, changed into a clean jumpsuit, and followed out the door about half an hour later.  
  
***  
  
The Asteroids  
  
Faye tossed the loosing tickets on the track floor in disgust. Well there's no hope for it, she thought as she called the familiar number. She'd just go back to the Bebop and cool her heals for a while. Those boys adored her; they'd take her back just like they'd done so many times before. The handheld rang as she walked to the Redtail.  
  
***  
  
Obsidian was still pissed as she was watching TV in the lounge of the Bebop when the screen blinked with an incoming message. She debated not picking up then absently flipped the switch to answer the call. There was a woman with short purple hair, almost wearing some sort of yellow outfit on the screen.  
  
"Whad'yah want?" Obsidian asked with an eyebrow quirked in amusement at the other girl.  
  
"I'm sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number." Faye responded in confusion.  
  
"I'll say." Sid laughed. Who the hell did she think she was calling? Sid cut the call and went back to the show. About 2 minutes went by and the phone rang again. She sighed and answered it to find the girl in yellow again.  
  
"What?" Obsidian said with an annoyed tone.  
  
"Is this the Bebop?" Faye asked, now really confused. She had used her speed dial to call that time.  
  
"Who's asking?" Obsidian asked, toying with her for amusement.  
  
"This is Faye Valentine." Fay was beginning to get annoyed. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"Never heard of you." Obsidian replied. "Whad'yah want with the Bebop?"  
  
"I want to know where it is! I live there." Faye was getting pissed.  
  
"Not since the last time I checked." Sid was now getting annoyed.  
  
"Where's Jet?" Faye asked.  
  
"Out."  
  
"Then where is Spike?" Faye hated talking to him when she was coming back, but she would rather put up with him that this kid. Hell, she'd rather talk to Ed at the moment than her.  
  
"Out."  
  
"What about Ed?" Faye asked hopefully.  
  
"Who knows?" Sid shrugged.  
  
"Fine, look, take a message and tell Jet that Faye called, ok?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that." Sid laughed as she hung up on her.  
  
***  
  
The Asteroids  
  
Fay was seething as she traced her last call. The things she was going to do to that kid when she got her hands on her were defiantly not legal. She was going to kill the little brat. Her handheld beeped signaling the trace was complete. Faye read the location with a grin, Ganymede.  
  
"Gotcha!"  
  
She flipped the communicator shut and fired up the Redtail.   
  
***  
  
Obsidian tugged on her shoes and went off to her room to grab her trench, scarf, and hat. She really didn't need them, the weather was much warmer here, but she hated going anywhere with out them. They were as familiar as breathing to her. Ed poked her head in the room as Sid pulled on the trench.  
  
"Where is Sid-girl going?" Ed asked curiously.  
  
"I'm taking Ein for a walk. I'm pretty sure he's as sick of seeing the same scenery as I am." Obsidian said as she pulled down her hat and reached for her scarf.  
  
"Can Ed go too?" Ed asked hopefully.  
  
"Nah, why don't you stay here in case the hooker calls back?" Sid wrapped the scarf around her neck. "Where is Ein's leash?"  
  
"Ed will get it!" Ed bounced off and surprisingly returned in a moment with the leash in hand.  
  
"Um... Thanks Ed." Sid said more than a little surprised. "See yah later."  
  
Obsidian clipped Ein's leash to his collar and walked out the door and off the ship. Ed sighed. All alone in the ship again, she turned to her familiar and reliable friend tomato. She was searching for the next bounty when what she saw made her stomach do a little jump.  
  
"Uh oh..." 


	15. Crossroads

Mars  
  
"The harbor master said that the ship had docked in Ganymede earlier today, so it is unlikely that they would leave before we arrive." Shin told Vicious as they boarded the ship.  
  
"Very good." Vicious replied "With any luck, he is already in custody and she will be waiting when we arrive."  
  
Shin nodded hopefully as he prepared the ship for take off. He had been right, Vicious was furious when Shin had told him all he had learned, ending with the fact that Joseph having fled. They would be looking for all three of them when they arrived on Ganymede, Joseph, Jet, and most importantly, Obsidian.  
  
***  
  
Ian and Toshi walked out of their shared apartment and locked the door tight. Silently they walked out onto the street and both looked left then right. Ian looked at Toshi and sighed.  
  
"Ok, are you going after the kid or am I?" He asked already knowing the answer.  
  
"Ah, come on man, you know I'm going to." Toshi grinned. "You take the big guy. I'll catch up to yah later."  
  
They nodded and Ian walked off to canvas the bars looking for Jet. Toshi took off in the direction of the pier to look for the ship and the kid. Both were confident in their individual missions.  
  
***  
  
Jet sat down at the barstool and signaled to the bartender. This was the fifth bar he'd been in today. Each bartender had been saying the same thing, 'don't know him, never seen him'. Jet pulled the photo from his pocket and waited for the bartender to walk down and take his order. A large meaty hand clamped down on his shoulder.  
  
"Jet? Is that you?" A familiar voice spoke from behind him.  
  
Jet turned and looked into the face of his friend and rival bounty hunter Fatty Rivers. Jet smiled outwardly and cursed inwardly, he hoped Fatty wasn't after the same guy, but he didn't doubt it. "Hey Fatty! How's it going? You on a hunt or just visiting?"  
  
"Well you could say I'm on a hunt." Fatty said as comprehension dawned on him. Jet didn't know, Fatty smiled. "So how yah doing?"  
  
"Good, good. Ships running fine, and I just stopped in for a drink and to kill some time. Jet turned and ordered a beer, the first he'd have that day.  
  
"Never known you to drink this early in the afternoon, you got something on your mind?" Fatty asked him.  
  
"Nope, so, who are you hunting?" Jet asked fishing for information to see if Fatty was after the same guy.  
  
"Oh, just an old friend from back in the day." Fatty smirked self-confidently.  
  
Jet's handheld blinked with an incoming message and he excused himself from Fatty to answer. Fatty didn't go far, and aroused Jet's suspicions by not taking his eyes off his fellow cowboy. Ed's face was worried in the display and she began to talk.  
  
"Jet-person! You need to come back!"  
  
"What's the matter Ed? Is everything ok? Are you in trouble?"  
  
"Ed is fine, it is Jet-person who is in trouble! Jet-person, you have a bounty on your head. They said you took Sid-girl and the police-people are looking for you!"  
  
"Shit." Jet swore looking at Fatty with dawning comprehension. Fatty simply grinned and stepped in to make his move.  
  
***  
  
Spike found Jonathan Andrews and a few of his friends drinking it up and getting rowdy in a strip club called Deuces Wild. He eyed the long legged blonde on the pole before moving in to sit a couple spots down from Jonathan along the stage. Spike smiled, deciding to enjoy the show for a bit before stepping in to grab his prey. After all, he paid his cover charge to get in, why not enjoy it while he could.  
  
It didn't take longer than an hour before Jonathan and his friends got a little to rowdy for the bouncer's liking. Spike stood up and stretched ready to get to work. He pulled out his handheld and dialed Jet while the bouncer wrestled one of the offenders out the door. The handheld rang and rang, but no one picked up. Spike's eyes narrowed dangerously, he didn't like the looks of this. A nagging feeling right between his shoulder blades told him something was wrong.  
  
Spike turned to the bouncer as he was attempting to drag out two at once, "Hey, you want a hand?"  
  
The bouncer nodded gratefully as Spike went to work.  
  
***  
  
Toshi walked along toward the pier thinking about what he was going to do. He sincerely hoped the large kidnapper had simply left the girl locked in a room and had gone out to get supplies or a drink. He wasn't really up to taking on someone much larger than himself. At only 5'5", he did not cut an impressive figure. He sighed to himself and tried to keep a positive outlook about the whole 'worst case scenario'.   
  
Toshi walked past the almost vacant playground before it hit him. Today was a school day, what the hell was a kid doing there? He turned back and looked at her hard. She was overdressed for the weather, sitting there alone on the swings with a small dog of some sort lying in the grass a few feet away. Toshi took stock of her appearance and grinned as he walked into the play yard. The fortunes had smiled on him today, his target was right there in front of him. He absently wondered how she had escaped as he stopped to say hello.  
  
***  
  
Ian walked into the bar just in time to see Jet close his handheld and turn to the rather overweight man next to him. Ian was walking up to the pair, when out of the blue, the fat man sucker punched Jet in the jaw. People scrambled to get out of the way of the two brawling large men, as Ian ran up to join in. Fatty got a good hit on Jet's right side as Jet pulled him in for a headbutt. Surprisingly, Fatty was no slouch when it came to fighting, but Jet was giving as good as he got. Ian shoulder tackled Fatty down, connecting in a solid hit to the large man's stomach. Jet caught Fatty between the eyes with a right-handed punch knocking him out before getting to his feet. He put out his hand and helped Ian to his feet.  
  
"Thanks buddy, I guess I needed the help." Jet said with a smile.  
  
Ian dusted himself off and grinned easily. "No problem, I just don't like it when people sucker punch somebody."  
  
Jet turned back to the bar as Ian brought the butt of his gun down on the back of Jet's neck. The last thing Jet heard before falling unconscious was Ian saying, "Though a fair fight with you, I doubt I'd win."  
  
***  
  
Spike was walking down the steps of the police station whistling absently to himself. He had a black eye for his trouble, but the seven million certainly made that feel better. He pulled out his handheld and dialed Jet to let him know that Jonathan had been captured and he was heading back with the bounty, but there was yet again no answer. Now worried, Spike called the Bebop itself. Ed looked frantic as she picked up.  
  
"Spike Spike! Ed has been so worried!"  
  
"What's going on Ed?" Spike said as he ran for the Swordfish II.  
  
"Ed was looking for new bounties for after you and Jet-person caught this nasty cowpoke, and Ed found a bounty for Jet!"  
  
"What?" Spike yelled as he got into the cockpit. "What the hell does Jet have a bounty for?"  
  
Ed was almost hysterical, "They say that Jet-person kidnapped Sid-girl!"  
  
"Ok, Ed, calm down. I'm going to look for Jet, you see what you can find out. Talk to Obsidian, see what she knows."  
  
Ed looked like she was going to cry, "Ed can't! Sid-girl is gone! She left an hour ago with Ein, she went to go take him for a walk. Ed is sorry, Ed never should have let her go."  
  
"Great. What else can go wrong?" Spike cringed as he realized that he was tempting fate, and she just loved to kick him in the teeth.  
  
Ed typed rapidly away at her computer, "Bounty placed by guardian, Obsidian Sikes was kidnapped by Jet, no last name, nine days ago. Bounty placed nine days ago. What else can Ed find?" She typed away striking the keys with a precision and skill that Spike had never learned. "Oh no! Bounty cashed across town." Ed looked up. "Jet-person has been caught."  
  
Spike fired up the Swordfish II and took off toward that station. "It's ok Ed, you did real good. Don't worry about it, I'm going to take care of it." He cut the transmission with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Jet was in big trouble, he only hoped he could help.  
  
***  
  
Jet woke to a familiar and unwelcome sight, the bars on the cells in his old station house on Ganymede. He groaned as he sat up, gently probing the knot on the back of his skull where that lousy no good creep had cracked him. Jet scowled, more angry with himself for falling for that old trick than at the kid for using it.  
  
"Want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Bob was staring in on him from the other side of the bars.  
  
"How'd I get here?" Jet asked, head throbbing.  
  
"Some local bounty hunter punk dragged your unconscious carcass in about half an hour ago. I've been waiting for you to wake up." Bob pulled up a chair and sat down.  
  
"This is about that bullshit kidnapping charge isn't it?" Jet asked, stalling so he could get his bearings.  
  
"So you didn't do it." Bob sighed in relief. "Good, now all we have to do is get it straightened out that you don't have the kid and don't know who she is."  
  
"No, I have her, and I know exactly who she is." Jet stated flatly. "I just didn't kidnap her."  
  
"Ok Jet, what the hell is going on?" Bob was now very serious.  
  
"Spike and I were after a car thief on Mars and we found her. Unfortunetly, she turned out to be a kid and she got away." Jet began to explain. "I found her again later that night, and the somebody had worked the poor kid over hard. She's only twelve, and when the doc came to check her out, she was really badly sick and didn't wake up the whole time."  
  
"So what? She's been healing on your ship the whole time now? She must have been pretty bad off." Bob was trying to work out what had been happening with his friend as Jet talked.  
  
"No, I just," Jet stopped, not knowing how much to tell Bob. "She'd been raped."  
  
Bob sucked in his breath and didn't respond. This kind of thing happened more often than he would care to admit, and it shook him every time it did. He nodded slowly. "How was she holding up?"  
  
Jet looked away for a moment, and when he spoke, it was more to the floor than Bob. "She didn't care anymore. It wasn't the first time, her guardian had been doing it for years."  
  
"Jesus." Bob looked a little green. "That's just sick."  
  
"I couldn't just turn her loose to have him grab her again, so I kept her on the ship where she'd be safe. I figured we'd slip her into foster care after a little bit. She's too wild to be placed right now. She's a real fighter."  
  
"Jet you should have turned her over the minute she was healed up. Now look at the mess you're in. They're holding you with out bail, much to the irritation of that partner of yours."  
  
Jet nodded. "That figures, do you guys have her?"  
  
"No" Bob shook his head. "but there is a bounty out for her too."  
  
"What?" Jet looked surprised. "For what?"  
  
"Get this, she's wanted for being a runaway." Bob looked hard at Jet. "She's wanted by the Red Dragons, so you wanna tell me what's really going on?"  
  
Jet sighed knowing he was good and truly busted. "Her guardian was only watching her for her benefactor, he is a high ranking Red Dragon. The guy isn't related though, she was snatched from her parents about 9 years ago."  
  
Bob's eyebrows came together in thought. "From where? If I can dig something up, maybe we can get this whole mess sorted out."  
  
"She was snatched from here. From what I could figure out, it was a single mother, divorced, widowed, or never married, I don't know, but she gave the kid up unwillingly and never filed a report. There might be something back in August of '62."  
  
"I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, you want me to call you a lawyer?"  
  
"No, I'll wait and see what you dig up first." Jet looked over at his longtime friend. "Thanks Bob."  
  
"Yeah, you owe me." Bob shook his head as he walked out the door. 


	16. Are You Gonna Be My Girl?

Toshi smiled easily at the girl on the swing, she was so absorbed in thought that she didn't even see him walk up. "Hey kiddo, you escape?"  
  
Obsidian jumped and looked the guy over. Her eyes narrowed perceptively. "You're too young to be a truancy officer, what do you want?" She did not feel like being friendly right now.  
  
Toshi put his hands up in a mock form of surrender and laughed. "You got me there, I'm not a cop at all. I have been looking all over for you though."  
  
Sid glared hard. "Try your lines on someone else freak-o."  
  
Toshi blushed. "No, you misunderstand. I'm not like that, I'm a bounty hunter and your guardian would very much like you back. I don't know how you escaped, but we'll get you home safe and sound. You are Obsidian Sikes, right?"  
  
Obsidian immediately got the wrong idea, thinking it was a bounty that Joseph had put out on her. "You guys never quit do you?" She tried to run, but Toshi was quick on the uptake and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Hey kiddo, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you're going home. This isn't a vacation here, you can't live off the street yah know."  
  
"Watch me buddy." Sid hissed as her foot connected with his shin. Toshi refused to let go, and Sid was forced once again to ditch her coat and take off. Ein ran off in the direction of the pier as if to get help. There was no way that Obsidian was going to clear the four-foot fence surrounding that corner of the playground with that little of a take off and him so close, so she made a quick turn and changed direction. Toshi dropped the coat in his hurry to follow her.  
  
"Wait kid, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Toshi yelled as he followed two feet behind her.  
  
Obsidian spun and dropped into a stance. "I'll give you thirty seconds to get the hell out of here, or I won't be able to say the same."  
  
Toshi smirked mistaking her loose stance for her trying to find a way around him. He had size and strength on his side, plus if she ran, he probably had stamina on her too. He stepped forward, arms out in a non-threatening position. He reached out for her, and at the last moment saw her small smile of satisfaction. That smile promised a lot, mostly blood and pain. Toshi was now certain he had made a terrible mistake.  
  
Obsidian grabbed his wrist and flung him backward into the fence. Toshi was used to being bullied in school and reflexively curled, hitting the fence with his shoulder and bouncing back out at her. He made another move to grab her and she kicked him in the side effectively knocking the wind out of him. Without a second thought, she ran directly at the fence planting her foot firmly in the center of its mass. Using the chain link as a springboard she launched herself into a roundhouse kick and caught Toshi directly in the temple. He crumpled to the ground as she ran out of the playground.  
  
***  
  
Ed heard the insistent barking at the door, she flung the door open to welcome back Ein and Obsidian, only to find Ein alone with his leash still attached. Instead of coming in, Ein simply ran in circles and barked. Ed grabbed his leash and ran off following as quickly as she could. She may be crazy, but she knew trouble when she saw it.  
  
***  
  
Ian followed the tracking device that Toshi wore on his key ring. He was worried, his friend hadn't answered when Ian had called, and that signaled trouble to him. It's a good thing Toshi kept losing his keys constantly or Ian would have had a hell of a time finding him. Ian vowed to get a locator for his keys as well, this could really come in handy. He followed the signal down to the old park on Third and Sequoia. Terrified, he saw his friend and partner laying face down in the sand. Panicked, Ian ran to his fallen comrade. He had flipped Toshi over into his arms and began to check for a pulse when Toshi groaned.  
  
"What the hell happened Toshi?" Ian asked, relieved that his friend appeared to be all right.  
  
"That kid has a hell of a kick." Toshi moaned painfully.  
  
"You mean to tell me that you got your ass handed to you by a twelve year old?" Ian dropped Toshi back into the sand. "Oh my god this is sad."  
  
"Ow... I know! Don't rub it in!" Toshi whined good naturedly as he got to his feet.  
  
***  
  
Obsidian was lost. All of the little houses looked exactly the same and the streets seemed to blend one into the other. She sat on the curb, her face in her hands. It was going to take forever to find that stupid barge. Sid stood and sighed before walking down the road and taking a left onto another suburban street. She was now officially tired and hungry. She had been planning on running away and finding a way back to Mars and Vicious, but now, she'd be happy just to see Spike, Jet, and the rest of that screwed up group. She sighed again and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Maybe they weren't so bad after all. If only she could get a hold of Vicious and tell him she was ok. Then she wouldn't feel so bad about kinda liking it there on the Bebop.  
  
A car screeched to a halt next to her on the curb and a bunch of stupid Mexican looking guys jumped out. Obsidian didn't give a second thought; she turned and ran into the backyards of the houses behind her. The three men followed her screaming about their bounty and where she went. The tall wooden privacy fences that seemed to surround every backyard in this cookie-cutter neighborhood seemed to be her best bet. She scaled the fence easily with a good running start and a tree for leverage. Once on the other side, she ran along the length of the fence back out to the street.  
  
The wiry one was tossed over the fence a few moments after she landed and yelled a warning of her direction to the rest of the group. Obsidian booked past the edge of the fence with two of them hot on her tail and the third one trailing. She dashed across the street with out even looking to see if there was a car coming. The one who had gone over the fence followed with out looking, but the second one stopped to let a car zip though before resuming pursuit. Sid knew she couldn't keep this up for long and began to look around as she ran. That's when she saw it, and the plan formed in her mind as the smile formed on her lips.  
  
She ran straight at the fire hydrant on the opposite corner, crossing the street again with out so much as looking. Placing her foot squarely on the top she launched herself like a cat into the waiting oak tree. After scrambling up a couple of branches, she looked down to see the trio of would be bounty punks hoisting the smallest of their number up into the branches after her. Obsidian knew her timing had to be perfect or she'd end up facing certain death, either at the hands of the hunters or the ground itself.  
  
The skinny hunter on the ground actually screamed as she began her running start down the branch and leapt for the roof of the house. Every muscle in her body strained to reach the edge of the roof, time slowed to a crawl and as if in a movie, she watched her fingertips grab the edge. The two bounty hunters on the ground ran to catch her if she fell and the one in the tree began to climb down. Obsidian slowly pulled herself upward and collapsed onto the roof exhausted.  
  
***  
  
Ed followed Ein to the park, where she found Sid's discarded coat. Ein didn't give her too long to contemplate what that meant. When she had picked up the coat, he began to run again.   
  
***  
  
Spike returned to the Bebop only to find it's halls empty and quiet. It was rather disturbing to hear his footsteps echo in the hallways, and he shuddered inwardly as the feeling of someone walking over his grave crawled up his spine.  
  
"Ed? Obsidian?" Spike called out when he had reached the lounge. "Where are you guys?"  
  
A nagging sense of fear curled deep in the pit of his stomach as he realized that he was completely alone in the ship. He cursed softly, hoping he was wrong as he began to search.   
  
***  
  
Obsidian calmly practiced her meditative breathing in an attempt to calm her racing heart. The three hunters on the ground stupidly cheered thinking they had her trapped on the roof of the two-story house. Obsidian wasn't ready to throw in the towel just quite yet, and got up to explore her options. Belatedly she worried that she may have taken a wrong move and actually gotten herself stranded there. She looked over all the edges of the roof and couldn't see a way down. She let out a stream of curses that only made the hunters laugh in victory.  
  
She turned to what she knew now was going to be her only hope. She pulled the protective cover off the chimney top and grinned in victory. Obsidian took off her scarf and tied it around her face to protect herself from the soot before slowly beginning to inch her way down the chimney with her back braced against the walls and her feet out in front of her as far as she could get them. The hunters befuddled looks were the last thing she saw of the outside before she descended toward freedom.  
  
Obsidian wiggled her way down the chimney what seemed like eternity before reaching the last obstacle to her smokey escape. The flue was directly beneath her and she tentatively dropped a foot down to press on it. One foot braced her against the wall she began stomping on the edges of the flue to knock it out. With a crash and flood of soot, she tumbled into the living room of a nice family house. When Sid found her feet, she left a trail of little girl's size six sneaker prints across the floor and down the basement steps. She didn't know how she knew where the basement door would be, but for some odd reason she did. Once there, she pulled off the scarf that she had used to cover her face, and began to climb up to the basement window.   
  
Those dopey jerks would have the doors covered while she went out the window. Obsidian smiled as she climbed out the tiny window and over the side fence. She heard them get impatient as she collected her thoughts and breath on the other side of the fence. The door crashed open to the house as one of them kicked it and the sounds of them cursing their luck was clearly heard over the sounds of police sirens heading closer. Obsidian ran across the backyard of the neighbor's house before ducking around, not over the fence on the other side.  
  
***  
  
Bob was an hour late going home from his shift, busy digging through old case files on his computer instead. He had run through the timeframe that Jet had given him, put in the other details that Jet had known and hit search. It took twenty minutes for the results to finish loading. Bob just sighed, and knew it would be a long night. He couldn't see his buddy rot in jail, and if this helped then he'd do it.  
  
Two hours later, Bob was starting to regret his vow to help. He had gone through so many files his mind spun trying to figure a number. Too many of them were simple domestic dispute calls, most of them to the same houses over and over. He didn't know how many reports of battered single mothers lying that 'the boyfriend didn't hit them even though the neighbors saw it' that he had actually gone through, but he was starting to recognize names and delete them automatically. He was calmly drinking his coffee when Donelly came in to see why he was in so late.  
  
"Hey Bob, don't normally see you around this late. What's going on?"  
  
Bob looked up, eyes red from staring at the screen too long, and sighed. "Jet's downstairs in lockup."  
  
Donelly looked shocked, "What? What for?"  
  
"Kidnapping." At Donnelly's puzzled look, Bob continued. "He supposedly kidnapped this kid, said that there was an old case in August of '62 that would explain it. He didn't kidnap the kid, but the syndicate is involved. For all the times he's had my back, I owe him."  
  
Donelly nodded, "Scoot over kid, I owe Jet too."  
  
They both looked over the reports, each offering their own opinion on the events, Donelly sometimes remembering some such officer and piping up with a comment on the men themselves. It didn't take too long before both of them spotted the file they were looking for. Divorced mother, living alone, shots fired, they looked to each other hopefully. The file was a work of pure fiction as far as they could tell. The woman, Trisha Winters, found in a house with two dead men and a knife wound on her face. The cops, Donelly remembered them both as being syndicops as they were called, ruled the whole thing a crime of passion. According to them, the two men, who were both registered bodyguards, were fighting over the woman and shot each other to death. A side note on the report stated that the mother had committed suicide a few weeks later.  
  
After checking the ballistics reports, Bob and Donelly knew this was the case they had been looking for, there was no way that two men with handguns had shot each other to death with automatic weapons. The child, Huyen Winters, a young girl of three years old, was an only child, and the mother told the cops that she was with her father, Michael Winters. There was never a follow up as to if the kid was really with the father. Not willing to leave anything to chance, Bob and Donelly checked the Father's files to find several DUI's and a burglary report on file from four years ago. After checking the report, the officers on that call had not noted any child on the report. Bob quickly pulled up the crime scene photos and there was no evidence a child had ever lived at the house, no toys, no pictures drawn on the fridge, nothing. They then pulled up the crime scene photos from the double homicide, and found a picture of the mother attached, holding onto a two year old girl with long black hair and the most startling blue eyes they had ever seen.  
  
"That's it, that's the girl." Bob smiled.  
  
"Wow, bet she's gonna be a little heartbreaker when she grows up." Donelly grinned.  
  
"You mean if, the syndicate grabbed her remember?"  
  
Donelly nodded. "Well let's see if Jet can do anything for her." They both turned and walked down to the lock up with all the information they had found.  
  
***  
  
Obsidian was filthy, covered in soot, and rolling around on the grass only took care of some of it. Her face and hands were smudged beyond all recognition and her clothes were stained with it. If she ever made it back to that damned ship, Jet was going to have a fit. She smiled at that thought. Truth be told she kinda liked him mothering her, at that her face fell a little. She wanted to go back, she missed them, she shouldn't be happy there, she should want to escape and go home to Vicious. It was dark, she was lost, and she was hungry. Being alone in the dark and hungry wasn't anything new to her, but she didn't like this lost thing one bit. Obsidian spotted a small tree house in a side yard and quietly climbed the ladder into the childish playhouse. She curled into a ball with her scarf and hat as a pillow and promptly fell asleep. She had gone through a lot that day, a little rest was deserved.  
  
***  
  
Jet let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and stood up to pace the cell. Bob and Donelly were both standing outside after telling him all that they had found. Jet stopped his pacing in front of them.  
  
"So that's her real name, Huyen Winters." Jet looked puzzled, like something was nagging at the back of his mind.  
  
"Yeah, we think it's a little weird too." Donelly shook his head, "I mean, what's with the Asian name, both of her parents are white."  
  
Jet nodded, but that wasn't what was bugging him. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. He sighed, it would come to him, it always did and he'd just have to wait until it did.  
  
"I'd like to make that phone call now." He told Bob.  
  
"That'd be my department Jet." Donelly laughed, "Bob's been off duty for around four hours now."  
  
Jet grinned sheepishly and Donelly lead him out the door and down the hall to the vid-phone. The number was almost automatic as Jet punched it in. The screen rang a few times when Spike picked up looking frantic.  
  
"What's wrong Spike?" Jet was instantly worried.  
  
"What's wrong? You're asking me what's wrong?" Spike looked like he was about to snap. "Ok, first off, you're in jail! Secondly, I've searched this tub from top to bottom and the girls are both gone."  
  
"What? Where the hell could they have gone?" Jet stopped for a moment and thought. "Use the dog to trace them."  
  
"Can't, the dog is gone too." Spike looked off screen for a moment relief plain on his face. "Wait, hold on, Ed's back with Ein."  
  
"Spike! Sid-girl is all gone-gone!" Ed wailed. "Ein lost her scent!"  
  
"Shit, Obsidian is gone."  
  
"Her name isn't Obsidian Spike, it's Huyen Winters. I want you to fly over to this address and talk to her father, maybe he can help. He probably doesn't know, but her mother committed suicide shortly after the event." Jet looked hopeful. "She'll find her way back, she's a smart girl. I have faith in her."  
  
"I hope you're right. I'll go track down her father before it gets too late. Is there anything else I can do?" Spike asked.  
  
"No, everything will work itself out. We just have to wait." Jet said calmly, "Oh, and Spike, take care of Ed for me ok?"  
  
Spike nodded as the transmission ended. 


	17. Outside

Spike damn near broke the throttle on the Swordfish getting to the address that Jet had given him. What he found when he got there was a gorgeous white house with a sprawling manicured lawn. Whoever this guy had for a gardener was obviously very well paid. Spike walked to the door hoping that this Michael Winters guy would be home, it was only nine o'clock after all.  
  
After knocking on the door, Spike lit a cigarette and waited. Not more than five minutes went by before a young brunette woman in her mid-twenties opened the door. Spike smiled, pouring on the charm in a natural way that he didn't seem able to control.   
  
"Hi, I'm looking for Michael Winters." He said with that boy-next-door tone he used on pretty girls. "Is he in?"  
  
The woman grinned shyly at him before opening the door fully to let him in. "Michael, you have a guest."  
  
The man that walked around the corner seemed to be in his late-thirties, blonde hair trimmed, his eyes were hazel and dulled with the cocktail he was holding. Spike smiled easily since he was trying not to laugh. The man looked like the poster child for yuppie life in his khaki slacks and white polo shirt. Michael assessed Spike, confused since he did not know the younger man.  
  
"Can I help you?" Michael asked.  
  
"Ah, yes." Spike replied, "I'm here about your daughter."  
  
"You must be mistaken," the man smiled coldly. "I do not have any children."  
  
"I'm referring to Huyen Winters, she was born during your marriage to Trisha Winters." Spike replied easily.  
  
The man laughed in Spike's face at that statement. "Perhaps you should join me in my study for a moment." Michael shook his head still laughing as he walked down the hallway and into a room on the right. Spike followed him, unsure where this was leading.  
  
Michael went to the mini-bar that was set against the wall. "Care for a drink?" At Spike's slight nod, Michael pored him a liberal drink of scotch. "You are right, Trisha had a baby just before I divorced her. The stupid whore thought I'd care or just not notice." He shrugged absently. "Anyway, I don't give a damn about the kid. It's not mine."  
  
Spike was shocked at the man's blatant statement, "Could you elaborate?"  
  
Michael nodded still amused at the other man's shock. "Trisha used to like to go slumming in less than acceptable bars. She got knocked up on one of her little trips. I had a feeling that was the case, so when she finally had it, I ordered a paternity test." He smiled brightly, "No surprise, I'm not the father. It was a welcome excuse to get rid of her. She was beginning to bore me."  
  
Spike was a bit disgusted by the behavior of the man in front of him, but kept his easy smile. "So who was the father?"  
  
"That was Trisha's grand joke on me. In the divorce, it got pretty messy, she knew it would help my case if I could pin a name to the DNA of the little bastard so she dropped enough hints to be a pain in the ass. She said that the father was a cop, and she named the little brat after him."  
  
"So the father's name was Huyen?" Spike asked, prompting him.  
  
"That's the damned thing, she was too smug to be lying, so I hired a private investigator to check around. The guy turned the records upside down, but the only Huyen, first name or last, that had ever been on the force had died in a shoot-out six years before the bitch got knocked up." Michael sighed, becoming bored with the conversation.  
  
"So you have no idea who this guy might be."  
  
"No, but if you find him, come back and let me know. I'd like to shake his hand. He kept me from having to pay full alimony. You have no idea how relieved I was to find that she strung herself up. No more alimony." He smiled again at that thought, and Spike's skin crawled.  
  
"Well, thanks for the information. I'll keep that in mind." Spike, never having touched the drink, got up and let himself out.  
  
***  
  
Ed couldn't sleep. Spike had come home around ten, but at three, when Obsidian hadn't come back yet, he had gone back out to look for her. He was so worried, he left his jacket and wandered the warm night looking for the missing girl. Ein curled up on the couch and nuzzled into Ed, urging her to rest. Ed absently petted her four-legged friend the way she had seen Obsidian do, and as she did, it seemed to relax her. It didn't take long before she was sound asleep and dreaming of happy reunions with the whole crazy family back.  
  
***  
  
Faye let herself in and marveled at the quiet on the ship. It was 4:30 in the morning, and it was rare for her to be awake at this time or sober enough to appreciate it. She smiled and walked into her room, Faye figured she'd talk to Jet in the morning about staying. Better yet, she'd just act like she never left. Faye stopped smiling when she looked at the state of her room. All of her belongings had been stacked in the corner and clothes that were about Ed's size were scattered all over the floor. Faye picked up the discarded clothes and in one large armful, dumped everything in the hall. Let Ed clean up her own mess, Faye was pissed. She turned and locked her door before settling down to sleep.  
  
***  
  
The first traces of dawn were on the horizon as Obsidian stirred awake in her lofty shelter. She sat up, took stock to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be, and decided to set out again in search of the ship. She climbed onto the roof of the little tree house and looked around. She smiled in relief when she saw the sign for the fueling station about six blocks down and four over. Carefully climbing down, she began to head to the fueling station. They would know where the docks were.  
  
***  
  
Spike was exhausted, but he was unwilling to give up. She was out here somewhere. He had spent the first two hours canvassing the docks and surrounding warehouse district. From there, he headed East to the main part of town. He wasn't going to give up, he had to find her.  
  
***  
  
Using the directions that the attendant at the station had given her, Sid easily found the docks and made her way to the pier. She happily climbed aboard the ship and slipped in the now familiar door. She walked down the hallway and sighed in relief. She saw Ed, an unusual look of worry written plainly on her young features, curled on the couch with Ein. Sid shrugged and decided to let the girl sleep until she finished taking a shower. When she got to her door, her eyes narrowed angrily to find all her clothes on the floor in the hall. She tried the door, but it was locked.  
  
"So, they're getting rid of me." She muttered darkly. "That's why Ed's worried. She's probably afraid she's gonna be next." Obsidian picked up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, trying not to get them full of soot as she did, and walked to the bathroom. "They want me gone, fine, I'm taking a shower first." She was hurt, but there was no way Obsidian would admit that, even under pain of death.  
  
After a good long shower, she felt much better. She'd decided to make the best of things and go before anyone woke up. That way, she wouldn't have to deal with the nasty comments that would undoubtedly be said. She nodded absently to herself as if in agreement with her own thoughts. Sid made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a grocery bag to pack her things in. She walked slowly back to the hallway like she was stalling for time, like she didn't really want to go, not really. Obsidian bit her lip to hold back the tears that she refused to cry. So what if they didn't want her around. She didn't need them. Did she?  
  
A few moments later she walked back into the lounge grocery bag in hand, ready to go. She paused for a moment staring down at Edward in her fitful sleep. Ein stirred and Sid hushed him silently, but he nuzzled Ed awake as Sid made her way to the stairs. Ed's squeal of joy told Sid that she woken up. Obsidian spun around and put her finger to her lips in a futile attempt to get Ed to be quiet.  
  
"Sid-girl! You came home!" Ed shrieked happily as she launched herself off the couch effectively tackling Obsidian and pinning her to the deck. "Spikey-Spike has been so worried! He went out to look for you."  
  
"What?" Obsidian was a little disoriented from her sudden trip to the floor. "Why would he do that?"  
  
Ed giggled like Sid was telling a joke, "Silly! Spike was worried about you! He left really late when you didn't come back. Now Spike-Spike is out looking for you but Sid-girl came home!" Ed jumped up and did a little dance, howling like a banshee as Ein jumped around barking and howling. Obsidian put her hands over her ears in an attempt to drown out the noise.  
  
"What the hell is going on in here? I'm trying to sleep!" Faye shouted from the doorway.  
  
Ed spun around so quick she fell over. "Faye-Faye came home too!" Ed devolved into hysterical laughter and kicked about like some demented animal. Sid couldn't help but laugh.  
  
Faye walked into the lounge, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "Ed, do you mind?" She whined before she caught sight of Obsidian.  
  
Both Sid and Faye stared at each other. "You!" They both shouted in unison.   
  
Obsidian looked at Ed, "What the hell is the hooker doing here?"  
  
"I am not a hooker!" Faye yelled.  
  
"Ok," Sid smiled deceptively. "What is the cheap whore doing here? Is that better?"  
  
Faye dove for Obsidian and she reflexively dodged. "I'm going to kill you, you little brat!" Faye shrieked at the young girl.   
  
Sid ran around the couch and Ed got in between them trying to stop Faye. "NO! Stop Faye-Faye! Jet and Spike will get very, very mad!"  
  
"What the hell is she doing here?" Faye demanded of Ed. The threat of both Spike and Jet being really pissed was enough to draw her up short.  
  
"Sid-girl is a friend of Spike and Jet-person and Edward." Ed looked very serious.  
  
Faye backed off a bit but continued to trade glares with the raven-haired child. Her eyes struck Faye like a blow, they were so blue they almost glowed. Whatever, Faye decided, if Ed wanted to have a sleepover who was she to care. Faye turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen to scrounge up something to eat. She was up now, so she was going to fill her stomach while the boys were still sleeping. The clock in the kitchen read 7:30 and Faye groaned. Only three hours of sleep.  
  
***  
  
Joseph decided he couldn't wait any longer. He had to get that kid back now. He dragged the junkie bitch up the ramp and could only hope that Spike wasn't there. After a series of short knocks on the door, a beautiful woman with violet hair answered the door. She was wearing a pair of jogging shorts, an old long sleeve shirt, and a pair of fuzzy slippers as she stood and assessed the couple at the door. A scowl crossed her face and Joseph smiled at her pleasantly.  
  
"Look buddy, we have three rules on this ship." She said in an annoyed tone as she counted the rules off on her fingers. "No Sales, No Politics, and No Sermons. So, thanks, but no thanks."  
  
The woman started to close the door when Joseph spoke up. "Excuse me, but is our daughter here? We've been looking all over for her, she ran away from home a couple of days ago and we have been so worried. Someone said that she was here."  
  
Faye stopped in her tracks and beamed at the couple. "Sid? Why of course! You must be just devastated. I'll go get the little dear. Won't you come in?"  
  
This was the answer to Faye's prayers, the little brat was going. Now, if she could just find a way to get rid of Spike, Ed, and that damn dog. Faye smiled as she walked back down into the lounge with the couple following her.  
  
"Sid, you're parents are here. Time to go home." Faye grinned.  
  
All the blood left Obsidian's face as she stared at Joseph. Ed looked very worried. She was pretty sure that Jet had told Spike that Sid's mother was dead.   
  
"Yeah," she said as if in a daze. "Edward, can you grab me my coat?"  
  
Obsidian knew that Joseph would kill them if she didn't go along with whatever little game he was playing. She was just glad that she had Spike's gun tucked in the back of her waistband. When Faye had gone to answer the door, Obsidian had been worried it was another bounty hunter, little did she know it was the demon himself. She wondered what gutter he'd dragged 'mommy-dearest' from. Ed looked at Obsidian as if unsure, and Sid nodded at her to do it.  
  
"Edward, is that your little boy-friend's name?" Joseph asked in a deceptively sweet voice.  
  
Faye started to shake her head no and correct him about Ed's sex when Sid interrupted her. "Yes, he's very nice."  
  
Joseph's eyes narrowed slightly and he smiled. Faye wondered what game this kid was playing, but didn't care enough to interfere. She simply shrugged and let them escort the brat out the door. Ed looked like she was going to burst into tears and moved to stop them. Faye put her hands around Ed's shoulders and stopped her.  
  
Sid turned slightly and looked at them, her expression so hollow and hopeless that Faye sucked in her breath. "It's over now. Goodbye Edward."  
  
The couple and Obsidian walked out the door, and Faye let go of Ed. "What the hell was that all about?" Faye asked absently.  
  
Ed turned tears in her eyes and looked at Faye. "That was the bad man. Spike is going to freak! Sid-girl doesn't have a mama, she's died."  
  
"Mother, Step-Mother, what's the difference?" Faye tried to ignore the feeling that she'd just made a terrible mistake. "What did you mean by 'the bad man'?"  
  
"Edward is no longer speaking to Faye-Faye! Be gone!" Tears were rolling down Ed's cheeks as she ran to tomato to call Spike. Both Faye and Ed jumped as Spike's coat rang. Ed lost it then, she curled into a ball and rocked back and forth crying.  
  
Faye was now really worried, "Hey, Ed, it's ok. Just go wake up Jet, and he'll go make sure her parent's say it's ok for here to come back over."  
  
Ed looked up at Faye heartbroken. "Ed can't. Jet-person can't make everything ok!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because Jet's in jail." Spike said from the doorway. "What the hell is going on in here?"  
  
"What the hell is Jet in jail for?" Faye asked incredulously.  
  
Ed launched herself from the floor and ran to Spike clinging to him. "Spike-Spike Sid-girl is gone!" She cried into his side.  
  
Spike looked directly at Faye. "Where the hell is she?" His tone was colder than ice on Calyisto, and Faye shuddered before getting control of herself.  
  
"Her parents came and picked her up. What's the big deal?"  
  
Spike pulled Ed off his side and stalked toward Faye. "The big deal Faye, is the fact that Obsidian doesn't have parents. She's my responsibility. What did the man look like Faye?"  
  
Faye backed up instinctively, and hit the wall. He was almost right on top of her and she'd never seen him this angry before. "Short, balding, kind of slimey. How was I supposed to know! Why didn't she say anything?"  
  
"Because Faye," He said as his face was mere inches from hers, "As far as she was concerned, he would have done what I'm contemplating right now."  
  
"And, and, what's that?" She whispered in a small, terrified voice.  
  
"He would have killed you." With that statement, Spike turned and walked out to try and find where Joseph had gone. 


	18. I Used To Love Her

Joseph snarled at the junkie bitch to get into the car, and when she had, he shoved Obsidian into the front seat between them. He slid in behind the wheel and started up the small car, pulling off into the road and gunning it. He smiled as he checked the rearview and realized that one of the fortunes was with him that day, Spike hadn't noticed the gray car speeding away. Five miles later, he pulled into a sleazy motel lot.  
  
Mary looked at Joseph with a bored expression on her face, "Now that you have the kid, when are we gonna get our money?"  
  
"Soon." He replied in a tone that Obsidian knew only too well.  
  
Joseph grabbed Sid roughly by the back of her neck and dragged her from the car. She didn't fight him, it would only make it worse, besides, it was too early to do anything yet. She needed to work out her plan, she still had a few holes in it that she needed to patch up. The make-believe 'family' walked to a room that Mary unlocked the door for. Obsidian was shoved through the doorway and the force of it threw her to the floor. Joseph smiled cruelly as he saw her find her feet.  
  
"Get the rope." He told Mary.  
  
***  
  
Faye was still shaking as Spike walked back in fifteen minutes later. He was still angry, but the dark circles under his eyes told their own tale of stress and sleep deprivation. She had never seen him like this before, and she hoped to hell never to again. Edward had run off to where ever it was that she used as a hidey-hole on the ship. Spike walked past Faye, not even seeing her, and into the kitchen. A few moments later the sound of the refrigerator opening and then slamming shut was heard.  
  
"Where the hell is my gun?" He asked Faye quietly.  
  
"I don't know." She was still shaken by the earlier events, and her whole pushy, angry girl routine had yet to resurface.  
  
"Faye, do you understand how bad this is?" He still wasn't looking at her, staring instead at the knocked over bag of Obsidian's clothes on the floor.  
  
"Some jerk took her."  
  
Spike gave a small cold laugh, "Some jerk. That doesn't even begin to describe Joseph." He looked at her for the first time since he came back in. "He's a pedophile Faye. He gets off on beating her to the edge of death and then raping her. You just gave him his favorite toy back."  
  
Faye shook as the realization of the full extent of what she had done hit her. "We can get her back Spike. They didn't leave that long ago." She ran for the key to the Redtail. "She'll be ok."  
  
***  
  
Obsidian got to her feet and stared at Joseph. She felt the gun pressing gently against her spine, cold steel on warm flesh as a reminder that she could end it. He lunged for her, and she dodged to run around him. His fingers grabbed the back of the collar on her trench as she went past, and he whipped her around and into the wall, pulling her coat free as he did. Her head impacted the wall with a cracking noise and a flash of ultra-violet light exploded in the back of Obsidian's eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the gun on her back as she lay dazed and sprawled on the floor. Quick as lightning, he grabbed it and flung it. The Jericho 941 bounced against the wall and slid across the floor onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor.  
  
"A gun? You had a gun?" His eyes were cold and dangerous, and his tone foretold a great deal of pain in her future. "You were going to try and kill me. Weren't you? You ungrateful bitch!"  
  
He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. Obsidian's dizzy mind was muddled by the massive concussion that was forming, but she still had enough left to snap out her foot and make a solid connection with the side of his knee. Joseph howled in pain and slammed her head against the wall three or four times. Obsidian fought for consciousness as Mary handed him the rope. The woman looked worried, she was sober for the first time in years and the withdrawals were starting to wear off.  
  
"If you hurt her, we might not get any money for her." She warned him, worried more about the kid than the money.  
  
He glared at her as he snatched the rope from her hands. Mary backed away and into the corner by the bed. She huddled in on herself, terrified of the obviously unbalanced man before her. He grabbed Sid's arm and tightly tied the rope around her slender wrist. Joseph had completely snapped, insanity shown bright in his eyes as he ripped Obsidian's shirt over her head.  
  
"You want to fight me? I'll make you sorry I didn't cut your throat and dump your worthless carcass years ago." He screamed at her as he grabbed her hair and dragged her to the clothes bar by the bathroom door.  
  
Mary was crying and screaming in the corner, too scared to run she watched the nightmarish scene play out before her. Joseph strung the limp child up by her wrists to the steel bar on the wall. He spun sharply and turned on Mary.  
  
"Shut up! Shut up!" He railed as his fist impacted on the side of her face over and over again until the only sound was his ragged breathing.  
  
Obsidian knew this was not the way she wanted to go, but unless she did something soon, she was going to die in this dirty motel room. She'd be bloody, raw, and alone. Fear curled into her stomach and it tightened it's fist on her heart. When Joseph turned back to her she was fighting against the ropes in a futile attempt to get them loose. He grinned evilly as he watched her straining and pulling against the knots he had made. The belt he wore made a bone-chilling hiss as it cleared the loops on his slacks.  
  
"I finally made a decision. I know what I'm going to do with you now." His voice was cruel and unhinged as he walked toward her. "It was so sad. When I found you, you were so horribly mangled by the torture that Spike had done to you, that you died in my arms on the way to the hospital."  
  
Obsidian's eyes widened in fear as the belt cut a wide loop in the air before slashing down and cutting into her unprotected skin. She screamed in anguish as the fiery pain licked across her back. Joseph smiled at her as he brought the impromptu whip down against her flesh over and over. When he finally stopped to catch his breath Obsidian felt the agonizing wounds oozing blood down her torn back. Her struggles to avoid his blows had only ripped the rope across her delicate wrists, blood dripping slowly down her arms.  
  
"Vicious... is going... to... kill you..." She coughed out through the pain.  
  
Joseph came unglued. "You think he cares? You stupid fucking bitch! You think your little mark means shit to him?" He screamed, spittle flying from his lips. "I'll give you a fucking mark you'll never forget!"  
  
He rummaged through her pants pockets until he found the object of his desire, triumph on his face he pulled her disposable lighter out and flicked it on. Obsidian fought the fear, the sweet welcome relief of passing out, of succumbing to the pain. Her only way to stay alive was to stay awake. She focused on the pain, used it to fuel her anger and made herself hang tightly to the ragged edge of consciousness. The now heated metal edge of the lighter was glowing with a slightly white tinge and he grabbed her hair forcing her head forward and locking her still with his tight grip. The metal seared into her skin melting the flesh in a crescent shaped scar just below the tattoo that her beloved benefactor had given her.  
  
Pain tore through her and into the air riding on her hoarse screams. Her hands gripped the short length of rope that separated them, the touch of the rough material the only cord that she had left to cling to sanity. Mary stirred in the corner, coming back to life after her stint of unconsciousness. Screaming, she crawled to her feet and ran for the door. Joseph quickly overtook her, dropping the lighter in the process. He slammed her down on the bed and climbed on her struggling form. His hands wrapped around Mary's throat and he squeezed, cutting off her screams along with her air. He looked up grinning manically.  
  
"You're next bitch." He laughed.  
  
***  
  
Faye and Spike searched for three hours before realizing that Joseph was long gone to whatever rock he had found to crawl under. Dejected and tired they both returned to the ship. Their only hope, as well as Obsidian's, rested with Ed. It took only seconds for Faye to explain her plan to the young hacker, before she was typing away furiously on her computer. Within minutes she cried out excitedly. Both Spike and Faye snapped to her side as Edward pointed at the screen.  
  
"Ed found him!" She exclaimed. "Crandon Motel! Hurry hurry!"   
  
Faye and Spike didn't reply, they simply ran for the door.  
  
***  
  
Obsidian struggled hard, her blood soaked wrists slick against the ropes as Mary began to cease her fighting and fall limp in Joseph's hands. Obsidian's resolve doubled and she yanked hard downward putting all of her weight into it. She dropped to her knees as her right hand slid free of it's confinement. Joseph leapt off the bed as she dove into the bathroom reaching for the gun. He grabbed her ankle has her fingertips brushed the butt of the Jericho 941 pulling her back toward the door and her certain death. Obsidian screamed as she twisted onto her back and kicked him full force in the face with the heel of her free foot.  
  
Joseph roared out in pain and momentarily let go. She dove for the gun again painfully stretching the muscles in her already abused back. He sprung for her, dragging her back against the tile as he wrestled for the gun. Obsidian reflexively pulled the trigger, shot going wide, and the recoil loosened Joseph's grip slightly. She squeezed the trigger again, and this time, the bullet found it's mark under her tormentor's chin. His head rocked with the force of the exit wound sending blood, bone fragments, and gray matter everywhere. Joseph fell lifeless to the ground and Obsidian cried with relief.  
  
She couldn't waste any time in her newfound and hard won freedom, gunshots meant cops and lots of them. She pulled herself slowly and painfully to her feet and out into the room. Gingerly she pulled her babydoll t-shirt over her head and down her torn and bloody back. Next came her jacket as she readied herself to run, or rather limp, away. Unwilling to leave behind her best method of defense, she picked up Spike's gun and turned to the door just as it crashed open. Standing in the doorway, between her and her escape, was the bounty hunter from the park and a tall auburn haired man. Obsidian glared at them, bringing the gun up. She was going to get out of here, no matter who she had to kill to do it.  
  
***  
  
After breakfast, Toshi and Ian were off and running to catch a new bounty on the list. It wasn't much, he was just wanted for information theft, and the pair had tracked him the night before to the little no-tell motel just past the edge of the warehouse district. They had given up on the girl, Toshi insisted that she was more trouble than she was worth and Ian was still giving him shit about it. They had just walked into the parking lot when the first shot fired through the morning air. Reflexively, both hunters ducked for cover behind a car until they could figure out where the shot had come from. The second shot sounded from one of the rooms that lined the row behind them. They spun, looking at the numbers on the doors, hoping that room 23 wasn't the origin. Ian cursed as he realized that it was, and their target was armed now, just what they needed.  
  
The pair got carefully into position, one on either side of the door and Ian turn, kicking in the door. The both froze when they saw her, blood matting her hair and dripping from her fingers as she raised the large gun and trained it on them. Both Ian and Toshi dropped their guns immediately and put up their hands. A piece of rope hung from her left hand blood dripping off of it and too the floor. She wobbled dangerously for a split-second, and then caught herself.  
  
"Ok, both of you out. You're not stopping me, I'll fucking kill you first." Her voice was ragged from screaming her pain to an uncaring audience. She gestured with the gun for both of them to stay on the left side of the door. "Out!"  
  
Both men backed slowly from the room and out to the left of the door. She reached the door and braced herself on the doorway with her left hand before walking out the door. Ian had seen the woman in the room, there was no gunshot wound on her, but her lips were a disturbing shade of blue. He did as he was told, as did Toshi, neither of them knowing how many bullets the kid had left in that hand cannon she was holding.  
  
"I'm going to walk out of here, and you two are going to let me." Obsidian's eyes had a wild gleam in them that the bounty hunters weren't willing to test. "I don't care where you go after I leave, but it better not be after me."  
  
After she went around the corner, Toshi and Ian dashed back into the room. Toshi ran to the bathroom where he could see a man's foot sticking out, as Ian checked the woman on the bed. Seconds later Toshi turned and began retching into the sink.  
  
Ian looked up from the woman on the bed, "Is it him?"  
  
"No, I..." Toshi couldn't speak anymore, he just emptied his stomach into the sink.  
  
"Where is she?" A male voice spoke coldly from the doorway.  
  
"Oh god. Spike, Look!"   
  
Ian turned and saw them standing there, the purple haired beauty and the tall green haired man. The woman was staring horrorstruck at the small bloody handprint on the doorframe. Spike stared at the print in shock before he turned back to the two men standing in the room.   
  
"Where is the fucking bastard?" Spike yelled. "I'll murder him!"  
  
Toshi looked up from the sink, his eyes seemed haunted. "Too late."  
  
Faye looked mildly relieved. "It's probably not her blood then Spike."  
  
Spike walked back to the bathroom, Jet's Walther P99 in his hand, and stopped as he stepped on something. He bent down to inspect the item carefully before continuing. His mind rapidly put together the events that had transpired as he stared at the thin leather belt then at the wall both were splattered with small drops of dull red blood. Spike dropped to his knees.  
  
"Yes it is Faye." He said with a hopeless tone.  
  
"I hate to bust this up," Ian interrupted, "but we need an ambulance. This one is still alive." 


	19. Here I Am

Chapter 18.

"Christ what a cluster-fuck." Detective Frank Stewart sighed as he looked down at the pile of guns and weapons on the table.

"Sorry sir," Joe Antrim, a young rookie, smiled. "They were on the scene, and we figured it would be easier to sort everything out down here."

"Yeah, I'll bet. So what's the story here?"

"Well, we showed up responding to an attempted double homicide. The male, name of Joseph Sikes, was dead in the bathroom. Someone decided to ventilate his brain and made a hell of a mess. The woman, yet to be identified, was on the bed. It looked like someone tried to strangle her to death, but didn't finish the job all the way. She's down at the hospital, but she's not going to be too much help right now, she's still unconscious."

"So what are their stories?" Frank asked nodding at the files before him.

"Oh yeah, them. Well, Ian McLaughlin in room three says that he and his partner were tracking down some bounty head when they heard shots fired from the room that the bodies were in. He kicked the door in, and that's where this gets weird. He says that some kid was in there, covered in blood and holding a large gun. The kid points the gun at them and then flees the scene as they go in to check on the corpse and the woman. His partner, um… Toshimoko, I can't pronounce this last name, it's some weird Asian name. Well, anyway, his partner backs him up word for word."

"Really? You find any evidence of a kid on the scene?"

"That's the damnedest thing chief. There were little bloody footprints going away from the corpse, and a bloody handprint on the doorframe, but we couldn't track the footprints once they went into the grass."

"So they're saying the kid is the triggerman?"

"That's the thick of it." Joe nodded.

"How do the other two figure in?"

"They arrived on the scene after the kid fled. Turns out they were looking for her the whole time. The guy, Spike Spiegel, was the one to ID the body. He said that the kid had been living on the ship, and that the woman, Faye Valentine, had mistakenly turned the kid over to the dead guy and the woman earlier that day."

"And what does she have to say?" Frank was now getting a headache.

"Not much, she's in shock or something, just cries and says that it's all her fault."

Frank nodded as he looked down at the guns. "Great, she'll probably have the most information. Ok, well that just leaves one last thing. Who is registered to what?"

"Um, well, the Glock 30 is registered to Faye Valentine, the 84FS nickel plated Cheetah is the Japanese kid's, the two Taurus 92SPLs belong to Ian McLaughlin, and then we have our mystery gun."

"Mystery gun? Wonderful, I hate mysteries. What's up with that one?"

"That gun, is registered to a guy we currently have in lockup downstairs. We got it from Spike Spiegel. He's registered for a Jericho 941 that he claims went missing that morning."

"What's the other guy in for?"

"Kidnapping some little girl."

Frank rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anything else I should know?"

"Until ballistics comes back, I can't think of anything."

"Great."

"Have fun with the cowboys." Joe grinned.

"Wait. They are all bounty hunters?" At Joe's nod, Frank cursed. "I was right, this is a cluster-fuck."

Jet woke to the sight of bars and groaned. He was hoping that all of this was just one bad dream, but reality came crashing in again. At least the knot on the back of his head was gone, he thought absently as he felt the still tender spot. Anxious to see what Spike had found out last night, he waited patiently for his friend to call and let him know. He didn't have long to wait, but a phone call wasn't what he got.

Vicious called Ms. Thompson as he stepped out of the ship into the warm Ganymede sun. At exactly two rings the vid clicked on. His secretary smiled warmly without loosing her professional edge.

"Good morning sir. How may I assist you today?"

"I would like to know the status of the bounty I placed and the results of the background information that I requested." He replied.

Vicious was still on edge, but he had at least gotten some rest on the two day journey from Mars to Ganymede. Shin was relieved to see that the dark lines under his eyes seemed to have lessened a bit during the trip. It seemed to make Vicious feel better that he was out looking for her himself instead of having to deal with a mountain of Red Dragon business.

"Yes sir," Ms. Thompson replied easily. "I have that information right here. Jet Black, former ISSP Detective, retired after loosing his left arm in pursuit of Udai Taxim. He was highly decorated and all attempts to sway him to our side were met with refusal. Since leaving the force, he took up bounty hunting on an old fishing trawler that he named the Bebop. The bounty was collected yesterday at roughly eleven a.m. Ganymede time. I have forwarded all of this information, including the address of the ISSP station where he is currently being held, to your PDA."

"And the girl?" Vicious could feel some of the tension leave his spine at the thought that her kidnapper had been apprehended.

"No word as of yet. I will continue to search."

Vicious nodded and killed the transmission. Shin stood patiently to his right as he waited for instruction. Vicious seemed to think things over for a moment.

"I want you to go to the jail and speak with Jet Black. Find out where my daughter is, Shin, I'm counting on you. I'm going to look for Joseph."

Shin nodded and called a cab as Vicious climbed into the waiting syndicate car.

Frank was getting nowhere with this bunch. Despite being locked in separate rooms, each one was telling the same story no matter which way the detectives came at them. Even using the old 'your buddy ratted you out' trick wasn't working. He took a sip of the sludge that passed for coffee around that department and got ready to go back in and hammer away at Spike again. That boy knew a lot more than he was saying, and he wasn't about to give any of it up. To Frank, that meant having to pull out a lot of nasty verbal tricks, but so far, nothing was working. Just as he reached for the handle to go in again, Joe came running down the hall.

"Hey chief!" Joe shouted, slightly out of breath. "The ballistics report came in and so did the M.E.'s file."

"Lay it on me Joe, what does it say?" Frank could use some good news about now.

"Well, the guy was shot with a 9mm parabellum, which drops the woman out automatically, her gun takes a .45. The Japanese kid's gun takes a 9mm short, so he was ruled out. The Walther P99 and the Taurus' both take regular 9mm, so that only leaves one gun left. Guess what that Jericho 941 takes?"

"Nine millimeter Parabellum."

"Got it in one Chief." Joe smiled.

"Ok, what did the ME have to say?"

Joe's eyebrows knitted together. "It backs up the story they've all been telling. The ME says that there were two types of blood found at the scene, the blood streak on the wall by the bed was type A positive, as was the handprint, the flecks by the clothes rack, and it was mixed into the type AB negative in the bathroom. The only one injured at the scene was the stiff, so that lends a lot of credibility."

"Ok, what would you do rookie?" Frank smirked.

"Cut them loose I guess, they all told the truth."

"Wrong kiddo, Spiegel is holding out, so were going to throw him downstairs for a bit and hold him. Let's see if that loosens his tongue any."

"But Chief, is that legal?" Joe seemed worried.

"Sure it is," Frank grinned. "We haven't gotten the ME's report back yet."

"But… Oh! I get it." Joe smiled as he slipped the ME's report into Frank's desk drawer. "Shame about that, the ME says the report won't be ready until tomorrow morning."

Shin walked into the station house and talked to the desk sergeant about seeing the prisoner Jet Black. He was directed to another officer who took him down to the cells, after a thorough search for weapons and contraband. Shin obediently turned over his weapon and followed the officer down to the cells. When the officer left, Shin began talking to the man in the cell.

"Hello Mr. Black." He said calmly.

Jet was lying on the bed and at the sound of the young man's voice he cracked one eye open and looked him over. "You're too young to be a lawyer, what do you want kid?"

"I represent the guardian of Obsidian Sikes." Shin replied.

Jet lit off the narrow cot like it was on fire and reached through the bars grabbing Shin by the front of his shirt. The young man sucked in his breath as Jet drew him close. A murderous rage was across Jet's features, and his eyes blazed blue as the sky before a summer storm.

"You represent that sick fuck?" Jet growled. "You tell him to come down here and I'll _represent_ him in a way he'll never forget."

The door at the end of the hall opened and an officer came in escorting a handcuffed Spike. Both Shin and Jet stared open mouthed at their mutual friend. He looked like hell. He was slouched as if the weight of the world hung on his shoulders, the normally unruly green mop a complete mess, his yellow shirt wrinkled and unbuttoned down about three buttons, his tie hung at dejected angle loosely from his neck, and there was enough baggage under his eyes to make a trip to Pluto and back. Joe noticed them before Spike did.

"Hey! You! Let him go now!" He shouted at Jet.

Jet immediately let go, and Shin stepped back. Spike looked at both of them without his trademark lazy grin and then looked away as the cop lead him to the cell opposite Jet's. When the door was locked, Joe turned and warned Shin not to get that close again. With a glare at Jet, Joe Antrim walked back to his desk.

"Spike! What the hell happened?" Jet exclaimed as Shin continued to stare.

"I'm sorry, both of you." Spike said, causing Jet to look at him then at the young man, confused.

"What happened Spike?" Shin spoke Jet's thoughts.

"Joseph is dead."

"Good!" Both Shin and Jet growled at the same time.

"Wait, if you're not here with Joseph, then who the hell are you here for."

"He's with Vicious." Spike told his partner.

"Where is Obsidian?" Shin asked.

"I don't know. Faye showed back up, and when he came knocking, she didn't think twice about sending Sid home with her parents. Joseph did it again, but this time she shot him for it." Spike stood, holding the bars for support as he spoke. "She's hurt, and I have no idea where to find her."

"How bad?" Jet asked, when he got no reply his tone dropped and became frantic. "Spike, how bad?"

"Her blood painted all over the wall in the motel room. He tied her up and whipped her. I didn't get back to the ship in time."

Jet backed up and sat on the edge of the cot, face in his hands. Shin's completion took on a sickly green tinge. No one spoke for several minutes.

Shin finally broke the silence. "Jesus Christ, it was worse than we thought. Two days ago I went to her school, only to find that she hadn't attended in two years. The principal and the consular were both worried."

"Of course she wasn't in school." Spike laughed bitterly. "She was out all night jacking cars for Joseph."

"She what?" Shin was not looking forward to the conversation he was going to have to have with Vicious.

"Joseph had her working as a car thief. He beat her savagely, and Shin," Spike looked up at Shin so the young man would know he was telling the truth. "He raped her repeatedly."

"Oh god." Shin braced himself against the bars on Jet's cell.

Jet spoke up from behind him. "When I found her, she was worked over hard. I've actually seen people that have turned informant for the ISSP that are worked over lighter than what she got. I brought her back to my ship and we got her patched up with the help of the doc. I couldn't just turn her back out in the street, not with that monster waiting for her."

"And I couldn't very well walk up and tell Vicious what was going on. He would have lost it Shin."

"Why didn't she say anything? I don't understand."

Spike spoke up again his voice weary with exhaustion, "She was terrified that he would hate her. She couldn't take that. She was so fragile and so strong all at the same time, but one word of rejection from him would have killed her."

"Spike if she shot Joseph, what are you doing behind bars?" Shin asked slowly.

Spike looked up at him again. "She used my gun to do it."

Shin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "First things first. I am having all charges against you dropped." Shin said to Jet before turning to look at Spike. "Then we'll worry about how to get you out."


End file.
